Ice Dragon Chronicles
by The Awesome God Apollo
Summary: Hitsugaya Toshiro was hailed as a prodigy. He rose though the ranks from a mere child to one of the most powerful Shinigami Soul Society had to offer. From the Academy to the Gotei 13, from Shikai to Bankai, this is the story of the Heavenly Guardian.
1. Prologue

ICE DRAGON CHRONICLES

By: The Awesome God Apollo

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure Tite Kubo is a man. And older than thirteen. Just sayin'...

Happy Birthday, Toshiro!

_**IMPORTANT!**_ Read the Author's note at the bottom, please and thank you! :D

PROLOGUE

In the very beginning, there were no Shinigami in Soul Society. There was no order, no leader, and Hollows ravaged the Living World because there was nobody to purify them and help souls move on. The few souls that managed to move on formed a village of sorts, but had to live in fear of the monsters that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. It was considered a dark age in Soul Society's history. It was at this time that he appeared.

The Heavenly Guardian.

No one knew who he was or how he appeared. All they knew was that he was their saviour, and thus they embraced his arrival with open arms. He dispatched the monsters with ease, and helped souls move on to Soul Society.

He was said to be the first Shinigami.

His name was unknown to all; they only began to call him the Heavenly Guardian because legend had it that he had been blessed by God with unfathomable power and skill. And he was never seen without his partner.

Hyourinmaru was said to be the greatest of dragons, the ruler of the skies and the sea. **(1)** According to the myth, the Guardian had met and tamed him, convincing the almighty dragon to allow him to wield his power. He transferred the very essence of his soul into the Guardian's sword, and from then on, the two became inseparable.

The man's white hair and teal eyes only served to further immortalize him in the eyes of the souls he aided. He wielded unimaginable power and did so with infinite grace, that for many years Soul Society lived in peace, with no fear from the monsters, and thus they began to build a village. And so the Rukongai was born.

But, like all good things, the peace did not last forever.

The Hollows, enraged that they had lost their main form of sustainment, waged a full-out war on Soul Society and its saviour, with Menos ranging from Gillian to Vasto Lorde banding together in an attempt to rid themselves of the Heavenly Guardian. Terrible as it was to behold, the Guardian managed to destroy much of the enemies' forces. However, the overwhelming number of Hollows created before the Guardian appeared proved to be too much for one man alone, and Soul Society came closer to the brink of destruction than it had ever been before.

It was at that moment that the Guardian unleashed his full power.

A massive wave of pure reiatsu swept through Soul Society, obliterating each and every Hollow in its path. After the battle, the souls searched high and low for their saviour, but neither he nor his partner Hyourinmaru were anywhere to be found.

They mourned his passing, but eventually moved on. Time passed by, people changed, and Soul Society developed. It was discovered that some souls had a semblance of spiritual power, and those who did could wield it as a weapon against Hollows. Thus, the Gotei 13 came into existence, and the Spiritual Arts Academy was created.

The tale of the Heavenly Guardian eventually became a myth, a legend, a fairy tale to be told to children before bedtime. Only a select few believed that he had actually existed and neither hide nor hair was seen of him or the mighty ice dragon.

Until, centuries later, a young prodigy appeared in the Academy. She breezed through with little problem, and the Head Captain of that era was perplexed to discover she wielded a sword by the name of Hyourinmaru. Her white hair mystified those around her, and rumour arose that she was the reincarnation of the man said to be the first Shinigami. She quickly rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant, but was brutally murdered by a vicious Hollow a few years later, and never had the chance to unlock her full potential.

It was only a decade later that war descended on Soul Society once more. Though not as devastating as the first, it was just as terrible, and many Shinigami lost their lives. And so began the 'true' legend of the Heavenly Guardian, that he would be reincarnated in times of Soul Society's greatest need.

After the first, only two more followed, once during the period when the noble houses rebelled against the Gotei 13, and once more when the Hollows had rallied again. Neither managed to fully unlock the power of the Heavenly Guardian, and though both wars eventually ended in peace, neither survived.

Life continued on as per normal, and no one saw or heard from the Heavenly Guardian after that.

That is, until now.

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The first District of Rukongai, Junrinan, was always a serene place. At night, the stars shone brightly, a perfect replica of the night sky in the World of the Living. The moon gleamed against the inky blackness and reflected off the river as a cool breeze rustled the trees of the nearby forest.

In a tiny house not too far from the forest dwelt a little old lady. She was well-loved by the residents of Junrinan, who had affectionately come to call her Granny. It was her kind-heartedness that had prompted her to taking in two young children off the streets, quite literally. Unfortunately for her, it was her more recent charge who caused her to be ostracized by the other souls.

In her opinion, he was a sweet young boy, but now that her other charge had left only five years ago (because five years was indeed a short time for a soul), the only person willing to speak to him was her.

At the moment the two of them were sleeping peacefully in their small little house. Or at least, one of them was. Hitsugaya Toshiro was tossing and turning in his sleep, plagued by his daily nightmare.

Toshiro opened his eyes to the now-familiar plain. White stretched as far as the eye could see, soft snow being blown around harshly by a fierce wind. The humongous plain he now stood on was composed completely of ice, and surrounded by seemingly insurmountable jagged mountain formations. Anything beyond them was blocked out by the ever-raging blizzard before him. But that wasn't the strangest thing. In the middle of the plain of ice stood a massive dragon.

The dragon towered over him, dwarfing his tiny figure even more than usual. It radiated power, and its ruby-red eyes felt like they were boring into his soul. Its scales were made of ice itself, hardened to the point that they glittered like diamonds. Wings with a span of at least ten times his height **(2)** stretched across the plain. Its jaw alone was larger than the boy, and yet he didn't feel uncomfortable or afraid, only confused.

"Child!" The dragon roared. "You...ing...I... ist...n!" Like always, even the dragon's booming voice was drowned out by the howling wind.

Toshiro struggled forward, pushing against the gale in an attempt to catch the dragon's words. "I…. can't hear you!"

"My...am...s...y...ri...ar...!"

Toshiro struggled harder against the wind when suddenly the force increased. **(3)** It blew him away from the dragon. He closed his eyes and waited for impact with the ground...

Toshiro sat up in bed with a jolt. He attempted to control his breathing rapid heartbeat. He quietly pondered what the dream had meant, too deep in thought to notice the frost creeping up the walls.

**Author's Note:**

**(1) I figure, he **_**reigns**_** over the frosted **_**heavens**_**, and people basically acknowledge him a the ruler of the skies, then I could write that. And for the seas thing, well, he is the greatest ice, snow and **_**water**_** type zanpakuto out there.**

**(2) I watched the Toshiro vs. Hyourinmaru fight in episode 239 of the anime (Zanpakuto Unknown Tales Arc, for those of you that haven't watched it, I would recommend at least this fight, it's really cute! :3), and I noticed when Toshiro was floating in the air and Hyourinmaru was in ice dragon form, his wingspan was about 8-9 times Toshiro's height. And since he would have grown a little since his days in Rokungai, I'd guess his wingspan would be about 10 times Toshiro's height back then.**

**(3) I made this part up. Only way I could think of to wake him up suddenly. Sigh. :/**

**This is the **_**IMPORTANT**_** part. My laptop crashed. The thing is, I had already typed up the prologue and first chapter on it, and I forgot to send it to myself. (I had to rewrite the prologue. Sigh.) Therefore, since I don't want to rewrite the entire first chapter, because it is rather long, I am going to wait for it to be fixed before posting the next chapter. However, while I'm doing that, I will be working on the second and third chapters, and those will be up shortly after. Sorry! So don't expect an update too quickly, since I'm not sure how fast it can be fixed.**

**Okay, thanks for reading! This is the first fanfic that I've written and actually posted, so I hope you guys will tell me what I'm doing wrong or right. Flames will be used to cook Christmas dinner. Also, tell me if there's anyone you want me to bring into this fanfic, or anything you particularly want to happen. I have a good idea for what happens from now until the end, but there's some parts that are up in the air, so I'll try to add your suggestions in. Please drop me a line so I can improve my writing! Thanks! :)**

**Also, thank you to Ero-Chibi-Chan and Ice Prince Hitsugaya for helping me with this. Go read their stories, they're both amazing writers. **

**Until next time! Sorry for the super-long author's note.**

**T.A.G.A. 3**

**Edit March 12th, 2012: Just realised that I've been spelling Rukongai wrongly...**


	2. Beginnings

ICE DRAGON CHRONICLES

By: The Awesome God Apollo

Disclaimer: **Fan** **2** (fn)

_n._ An ardent devotee; an enthusiast.

[Short for fanatic.]

Anyone else make the connection? I don't own anything. However, any opinion expressed are my own, and generally rather unpopular. ;)

_**IMPORTANT!**___Read the Author's Note at the bottom, please :)

CHAPTER 1

Hitsugaya Toshiro was not a naturally antisocial person.

In fact, in the beginning, he had been a bright-eyed, energetic young child, exactly like those his age. He had laughed, and played and enjoyed life. **(1)** That is, until he was old enough to consciously notice that he was treated differently than others. Whether it was because of his unusual hair color, or his teal eyes, or even his somewhat cold personality. Every adult other than Granny and the giant guarding the gate into Seireitei treated him with hostility, going so far as to stop their children from playing with him whenever he was around. It got so bad that even the children who had willingly played with him before began to avoid him like the plague.

The first time he had been called a freak was when he had the physical appearance of a six-year-old.

People began to see him as a freak, a jinx, someone to be avoided. And there wasn't anything he could do about it. Everything was fine when he had Momo by his side. Momo, with her naivete about the prejudices against him, never understood why everyone seemed to dislike her "Shiro-chan". Nevertheless, she would defend him against mockery from anyone else, and Toshiro grew grudgingly appreciative of her presence and friendship. People, or at least the children, eventually realized that to shun Toshiro would be to shun Momo, and since she was well-liked by most, they reluctantly accepted him, or at least made an effort to put up a farce in front of her.

Naturally, that all changed when she got accepted into the Academy. Her excitement had been boundless that day, and wouldn't stop explaining to every person she met how she bumped into a Shinigami who had told her she had reiatsu and should go to the Academy. The nameless Shinigami had taken her to Seireitei to take the entrance exam, and she had come bouncing back later in the day proclaiming to the world that she would join the Academy a few days later.

The Academy was formally known as the Shinigami Academy, where Shinigami went to train their powers before they got accepted into the Gotei 13. Their education normally lasted about six years, so it would be Momo's final year as a student. In the five years she had been there, she had come to visit them once, and she hadn't stopped gushing about one of the captains, and how he had saved her from the Menos Grande that had attacked her during their trip to the Living World. Not once did she stop to ask about her childhood friend.

When Momo had left for the Academy, Toshiro couldn't help but harbor some resentment towards her for abandoning him and Granny. Without Momo, he had known that no one would be as accepting of him now, and he had instantly become a loner. The people who had been avoiding him began to do so with even more vigor, and some of the older children began to attack him physically as well.

Toshiro could defend himself fairly well for someone of his size, and more often than not, his attackers had more bruises than he did. Of course, when that happened, the children ran straight to their parents with a made-up story, and Toshiro got into trouble. Not that he minded, but he didn't want to make things difficult for his grandmother, so he stopped fighting back. Of course, that painted a target on his back, and the bullying got worse than ever. The only place that he could find solace besides his grandmother's house was the river.

The river was a place generally avoided by the children and adults alike. It was dangerous, the current fast and the water deep. Several people had drowned after going too close and falling in. Most of the children had been warned away by their parents. Toshiro, on the other hand, was drawn towards the river. Even before his grandmother had taken him in, he had had an unexplainable affinity for water. He would find himself seeking out the river when he was hiding from the other children, and everyone would leave him alone there until he decided to return to his grandmother's house.

It was by the river he sat as he quietly watched the sun setting. Sensing that it was getting late, he returned to the house. That night, he had another dream.

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The next day, Toshiro was in a slightly better mood. The winds in his dreamed had calmed down slightly, and he could hear the monstrous dragon better than before. It wasn't much of an improvement, but Toshiro felt a strange sense of accomplishment and pride, despite not really having done anything.

His granny approached him sometime in the afternoon, when the sun was at its hottest; "Toshiro, would you please go and buy some food? We are running low."

She dropped a few coins into his hand and Toshiro could feel guilt gnawing at him. It was only for his sake that they needed to buy food, both he and Momo had had incessant appetites. Toshiro could also hear a faint tone of apology in her voice; she knew that he hated to go where any of the villagers went. She would have gone herself, but the many years she spent in Soul Society had made her frail and weak. It was because of this that Toshiro put on a smile for her.

"I'll go buy some amanatto too. We're all out, right?" She smiled gently in response and ruffled his hair before he ran out.

On the way to the village shops, Toshiro managed to ignore the stares and felt his mind drifting off; 'Baa-chan's grown really thin. She's been getting worse ever since I started having those dreams.'

The idea that he might be the cause of his granny's ill pallor worried him greatly, and the thought crossed his mind that he could leave so she wouldn't suffer. All the same, he didn't want to see again the expression she had worn when Momo left them and gone to the Spiritual Arts Academy. An expression of hurt and loneliness, however hard she had tried to mask it that day. But he brushed the depressing thoughts off, and continued on his way to the shops.

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Matsumoto Rangiku was having a good day. She had half the day off, and she had spent all morning shopping in the Rukongai, maybe with a few drinks here and there, but she wasn't even close to plastered. She had been warned by the lieutenant not to, since she was expected to return to duty (read: sleeping on the couch) later in the afternoon. She was an hour or two late, but couldn't bring herself to care. Her taicho wouldn't mind, after all.

On her way back to the Seireitei, when she walking through Junrinan, she noticed something that caught her interest. White hair. She hadn't seen that color on anyone except Ukitake, Gin and the sou-taicho. The thing was, the person with white hair didn't even look old. Hell, he looked like he was six years old! As he turned, she glimpsed his stunning teal eyes.

Her insatiable curiosity prompted her to approach the boy carefully. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that the villagers were avoiding and ignoring him, giving him a wide berth as he passed by and glaring unashamedly. Her fists clenched in anger on his behalf.

She watched as he went to the sweets store. Her smile quickly turned into a scowl as she realized the shopkeeper wasn't any different from the others. Finally, when he dropped the change on the counter instead of the outstretched hand as though he couldn't bear to touch the kid and told him to get lost, she has had enough.

"Hey, you!"

Rangiku stormed over to the shopkeeper, who had the decency to look frightened as the busty woman got into his personal space. She inwardly smirked as his eyes widened even further upon noticing her shihakushou. She ignored the feeling of the kid bumping into her chest and proceeded to scold the man thoroughly.

"You shouldn't treat customers like that! Are you taking advantage of him because he's a kid?" She wasn't so naïve to believe that it was just his age, but there was nothing she could do about ridiculous prejudices.

"N-no!" stammered the shopkeeper. She ignored him and turned to the kid, who was still lying on the floor from when she had knocked him over. She scoffed. The kid needed to stand up for himself!

She grabbed the black of his clothes, pulling him up with one hand until his legs were dangling far above the ground and he was face-to-face with her. Looking closer, she could see tears in his eyes as he clutched the back of his head in pain. Kids!

"How long are you gonna sit there and cry? Man up and say what's on your mind!" She was mildly surprised by the intensity of his glare and the deepness of his voice as he retorted.

"And just whose fault is it? Besides, I'm not crying! Lemme go!"

As he spoke, she felt a surge of reiatsu coming from the child, and it took all her willpower not to shiver at its coldness. Her eyes widened in shock and then narrowed as she stared at him, but her hand didn't abide to his demands.

"I said lemme go!" He slapped her hand away with unexpected strength and ran off in the opposite direction.

"Hey, wait a sec!" She considered shunpoing after him, but she decided that she would report to her captain first. He was going to be very interested.

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Kobayashi Daisuke, Lieutenant of the Tenth Division, **(2)** was not in a good mood. The third seat was, as per normal, completely MIA for several hours now and being stuck alone in the office with his taicho could drive anyone crazy.

"DAISUKE! You're not listening to me!" He reluctantly returned his attention to the man in the corner of the room and wondered for the millionth time why he still hadn't requested to transfer out of the Tenth. Probably because it would fall apart without him.

Kurosaki Isshin sat in the corner of the room, sobbing dramatically. "The new recruits in squad four **(3)** think I'm weird!" Crocodile tears continued to run down his face and he whined loudly.

Daisuke massaged his temples, feeling the symptoms of a migraine appearing slowly. "Taicho, everyone thinks you're weird."

Isshin looked up. "That is true." Suddenly he was beaming brightly as he jumped up from the corner. Daisuke ignored him, having gotten used to the fact that his moods changed so fast it could almost give people whiplash. "But you still love me, right?"

Daisuke sighed for the umpteenth time that hour. Isshin was always behaving in a strange manner, although he could be counted on to be serious when need be. He was generally well-liked by both his colleagues and his subordinates, but, when it came to new recruits, he gave somewhat of a terrible first impression. He was saved from answering when the door to their office was flung open. Only one person dared to enter the captain's office like that…

Rangiku stood in the doorway, beaming and looking surprisingly sober.

Isshin dashed towards her, arms held out and waiting for an embrace. "RAN-CHAN!"

She dodged with practiced ease and he went flying out the door, to the astonishment of the new recruits and the belated amusement of the senior officers. Daisuke could hear him mumble from outside, "so mean, Ran-chan…"

"Yo, fukutaicho!" Rangiku had turned her attention to him and a tic mark appeared on his forehead.

"Matsumoto-san, you're three hours late." She giggled as she collapsed on the couch.

"Now, don't be like that, fukutaicho! I found something important!"

By this time, Isshin had come back into the room, a now visible bump on his head. "And what was that Ran-chan?"

She snorted. "Well, it was small, white and cute! Not to mention it had the most adorable eyes I've ever seen!" The fukutaicho winced as she squealed.

"I don't think finding a rabbit or some other small animal counts as important, Matsumoto-san." Daisuke couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. Rangiku had always had a flair for the dramatic.

He didn't bother to hide his surprise when she burst out laughing, rolling around on the couch. "He wouldn't be very happy if you say that, ne, fukutaicho? Besides, he had the most incredible reiatsu I've seen from an untrained soul. It was seated officer level, at least." She waved her hand in the air to emphasize her point.

Isshin's brows furrowed. "Are you sure, Ran-chan? That much reiatsu from an average soul isn't normal."

She turned to him with serious eyes. "I'm positive, taicho, it surged when I touched him! The poor kid was being bullied by the villagers in Junrinan and I-"

"Wait, kid? How old was he?" Daisuke cut her off as she started to spin her tale.

"I dunno, his physical appearance looked no older then six or seven in human years. But the look in his eyes was so much older. If I had to guess, I'd say thirty..." **(4)**

"Such a young kid with the reiatsu of a seated officer….What do we do, taicho? It can't be safe to leave the kid be." The Lieutenant turned to his superior.

Isshin folded his arms, all traces of his goofy persona gone. "Well, Ran-chan, you should go see him and persuade him to attend the Academy. We'll just have to disregard his age. With that much power, he's a danger to those around him, not to mention the number of Hollows he might attract. He has to go to the Academy, whether he and the higher-ups like it or not."

Rangiku stood from her position on the couch, looking out the window to see that it was getting dark. Time to make her escape. "Hai, taicho, I'll go now!"

Daisuke sputtered. "W-wait a sec-"

Too late. The third seat had disappeared. A vein throbbed on his forehead.

"MATSUMOTO!" **(5)**

In the distance, Rangiku snickered.

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Toshiro looked up to see a crescent moon glistening in the sky. 'It's that dream. I….. can hear someone….' He looked around him to see the icy plain once more. He briefly glimpsed the mountains in the distance as his vision was obscured by the sight of the towering dragon before him. Just as before, the moment the dragon opened its mouth to speak to him, the winds on the plain picked up, howling loudly once more. 'It's echoing. It's crushing me; and embracing me. It's as though thunder is falling into my palms.'

The dragon's eyes were boring into him once again. Forcing himself not to shrink away from the piercing gaze, he instead focused on the welcoming cold of the ice beneath his feet. He shouted, "What are you?"

The dragon roared over the wind. "Child, you are-"

Toshiro braced himself against the wind that was pushing him further away from the dragon. "What was that? I can't hear you!"

"My name is-"

'I can't hear him!' Toshiro's eyes snapped open.

"Hey!" The woman from earlier was standing over him and just saluted him with a smile.

"Gah! You're from this afternoon!" He rolled over and jumped up.

"Hide your reiatsu when you're sleeping." Instantly, the woman's eyes turned serious. "Your granny looks cold."

His eyes widened. "Granny….."

When he turned and saw his grandmother shivering beneath the thin blanket, he felt a sense of horror and guilt overwhelming him. Had it really been him that had made her suffer so much? He swallowed around the lump in his throat.

Behind him, the woman, who he just noticed was wearing the clothing of a Shinigami, spoke to him. "Kiddo, you should become a Shinigami."

He stared at her in shock. "Powerful children like you have to learn how to control their abilities. Otherwise, you'll end up killing your granny before long."

"What are you-!" She cut him off by gently placing two of her slim fingers on his chest.

"You can hear a voice, can't you?"

Rangiku's POV

The boy's widened eyes were enough of a response for her to know. She couldn't help but feel impressed. Many full-fledged Shinigami hadn't heard their zanpakuto yet, and it seemed that the boy had been in contact with his for quite some time. He was definitely powerful. More so than most. But he didn't seem to have much control when he was sleeping.

"It's your choice if you want to go. But bear in mind you will end up hurting the ones you love if this continues." she said, sounding a bit more crude then she would have liked.

The kid turned horrified eyes towards his grandmother and Rangiku held back a wince. She couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him and her harsh words probably weren't helping any. Gin had been treated in exactly the same way as he was now, but at least he had had her.

His conflicting emotions were completely visible on his face. Guilt, sadness, curiosity, and even slight relief, most likely at leaving the village. When Rangiku saw this, any semblance of guilt she felt for depriving him of his childhood in Rukongai instantly disappeared. The way he was treated by people during his life, it was no wonder he looked like he wanted to go. In fact, she was surprised he hadn't agreed already.

The kid was watching her through lowered lashes. He still looked uneasy, and fairly torn, and it was only when Rangiku saw him glance towards his grandmother that she realized why. With the way he was treated, he probably had abandonment issues of some sort, like Gin did, **(6)** and most likely didn't want to leave her alone to fend for herself. She smiled a little.

"Your granny will be fine." His head snapped towards her in shock. She inwardly smirked at his reaction. "She looked after herself before you came along, I'm sure she can handle it. And it's not like you can't visit her when... if you decide to join the Academy."

One look at his face told her she had touched a nerve. **(7)** His big eyes narrowed and he bit the inside of his cheek as he glared at her. The room got even colder an she heard the ice on the wall crack ominously. She sighed and tried again.

"Your granny would want what's best for you. And I'm sure you want to keep her safe, right?" She REALLY didn't want to play the guilt card, but the kid had to learn how to reign in his reiatsu.

He looked back and forth between the two women again before finally speaking; "I'll go."

She grinned widely to this; 'Mission accomplished!'

"Well, I still have to take you to be registered in the Academy, kiddo! Let's go now!"

"Now? Are you crazy, woman? **(8)** It's the middle of the night!"

"No time like the present! Besides, in the daytime, I'm usually busy working!" Well, slacking, but he didn't know that.

He sighed and crawled out of his futon. "I have to change," he said, giving her a pointed look.

Toshiro then stood up and made his way to the corner, gliding easily over the ice that had formed with grace a kid that age should not have **(9)**. She marveled at the ease with which he moved around, completely at home and steady on the slippery ice. She on the other hand, had to solidify reishi particles with her reiatsu to hover an inch over the ground **(10)** so as not to fall over and make a fool of herself.

He cleared his throat and glared at her before she took the hint and made her way outside.

As she stepped into the cool evening air, she wasn't too surprised to see the extent of the influence the kid's reiatsu had on the surroundings. If anyone looked hard, they would see a thin layer of frost on the roofs of most of the houses, and clouds had gathered in the sky, obscuring the moon and stars from vision. Seeing as a storm in Soul Society was as rare as her sober and working (at the same time, no less), she was fairly confident it was his doing.

How the 12th Division had ever missed his reiatsu at night was beyond her, even with the seki-seki **(11)** stone that lined the edge of Seireitei. Although everyone knew the people working the night shift weren't the most competent.

She waited for a minute before he emerged from the small house, a frown set on his tiny face. He strode past her towards the gate into Seireitei without a word, and she followed silently. They walked for a short while before Rangiku felt a desperate need to break the silence.

"So, do you know anyone in the Academy or Gotei 13?" She winced as he turned his glare on her. "Oooookay, then, no talking," she continued. They walked forward in silence once more, taking forever to reach the gate in her opinion. She would've grabbed him and shunpoed, but he probably wouldn't take kindly to being carried like a sack. Besides, she had already offended him enough for one night.

They eventually reached the gate, taking much longer than Rangiku would have liked, and stopped when Jidanbou and the entrance into Seireitei towered before them. The scowl on the kid's face lessened as he craned his neck to look at the giant's face.

"Who goes there?" his voice thundered above their heads.

Rangiku slipped into her 'I'm-professional-not-drunk' mode. "Matsumoto Rangiku, Tenth Division, 3rd Seat, escorting a potential Academy student."

"Very well, you may pass." Rangiku rolled her eyes at the huge man's cliche-ness. He bent down to lift the large slab of stone that served as the gateway entrance when he spotted the tiny figure behind her, dwarfed even more than usual by Jidanbou's presence.

"Toshiro! What are you doing here? Finally joining the Academy, little one?" **(12)**

Said 'little one' huffed and crossed his arms over his chest; "I already told you, it's Hitsugaya, Jidanbou!"

Rangiku thought it wise not to mention the fact that he looked like he was pouting, though she was very tempted. The giant had merely continued on as though he had never been interrupted. "Didn't I tell you that you should join, even before your sister did?"

Rangiku raised a brow at this, wondering if the gate keeper had selective hearing or just enjoyed teasing the white haired boy. "I knew you'd have to go eventually!"

And from that, Rangiku knew that the large man had noticed Toshiro's potential, and was much more perceptive than most people gave him credit for. Said giant beamed happily downwards, to which the kid smiled tentatively up at the man more than ten times his height. "Go on, little one!"

At this, he lifted the enormous gate and smiled to the two. "Come back to visit soon!"

Rangiku grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, ignoring the icy glare that burned a hole in her back; "Arigato, Jidanbou-san!"

She yanked him through the gate as it slammed rather dramatically into the ground behind them, kicking up a bit of dust as it did.

"So, how do you know Jidanbou, _little one_?" Rangiku teased, holding back a giggle.

The glare he sent her could have frozen the Sahara **(13**), but she realized now why Jidanbou would enjoy playing with him. She grinned at him and continued to pull him along, towards the middle of the Seireitei where the Spiritual Arts Academy was located.

They made it through the residential area of Seireitei without problems, and they were currently passing through the retail area. Which was where all the shops, restaurants and most importantly to Rangiku, the best sake bars were located. They were walking by one of her favorite places to drink when a shadowy figure emerged from behind the open door.

"Yo, Ran-chan. Who's that you got with ya?" The mysterious voice was a bit slurred but still extremely recognizable.

She spun around to see the figure step forward, catching a glimpse of pink and white in between all the black. A familiar figure approached her and Toshiro, its wavering and stumbling being more blatant as it come closer to them. Rangiku watched the unsteady man approach her with a sweatdrop.

"Shunsui..."

**Author's note:**

**(1) I figure he would have acted this way since I don't think he would've been all jaded and hardened as a kid.**

**(2) This is the first, and probably only, main character Original Character (OC). I just chose that name, and have no idea what it means, so please tell me if you do. I just know both his surname and his last name are fairly common. I haven't decided whether or not to have a profile for him, or just describe his character/personality/appearance as I go along. If anyone asks, I will include his profile in the next chapter.**

**(3) That's SQUAD Four under the Tenth Division, not Division Four under Unohana. I use the word to describe one of the Gotei 13, okay? Squads make up divisions, divisions make up the Gotei 13. At least, in this story.**

**(4) I don't know the way Kubo Tite did the whole aging process since Toshiro is supposed to be like, around a hundred in canon and looks about 8-9, and Ukitake and Kyouraku are supposed to be millennia old and look 30-40. So I'm just going to follow the ratio Kubo Tite uses for Toshiro, since he is the main character, and assume that the aging slows down even more when you reach 'adulthood' by Shinigami standards.**

**(5) In this story, it'll be a running gag. And I figure maybe Toshiro picked it up from someone.**

**(6)**

**a. I do think Ichimaru Gin had abandonment issues. Don't ask me my reasoning.**

**b. I will be comparing Toshiro to Gin a lot because I do like him, he is a good character, and I do think they're both rather similar. They just deal with the crap life deals them in different ways. So if you have a problem with Gin, I'm sorry, he will be fairly important to this story.**

**(7) Hinamori. 'Nuff said. Safe to say I'm not a huge fan. I won't bash or anything, just saying I don't think she treats Toshiro the way he deserves. ESPECIALLY after Aizen.**

**(8) I know Toshiro wouldn't normally be do rude to a stranger, or even someone he knows, enemy or otherwise, but Rangiku just broke into his house and demanded he accompany her to the Academy in the middle of the night after insulting him the very first time they met that day. Frankly, he's being downright polite. If someone did that to me, I'd punch him/her in the face. And THEN call the police. Self-defence. ;)**

**(9) I always thought Toshiro was very graceful. I know that sounds weird, but seriously, despite the fact that he wields a gigantic ice dragon many, many times larger than him, he still manages to look graceful doing it. I mean, c'mon, give him credit where credit's due! And I figure it was natural to some extent.**

**(10) You know how they stand in the air during fights? This is how it works. At least, that's what I've heard.**

**(11) Seki-seki stone is that material that makes up the wall surrounding Seireitei, and it suppresses reiatsu, therefore making it more difficult for the 12th Division to detect reiatsu outside of Seireitei, unless (possibly) they're looking for a specific one.**

**(12) Jidanbou is one of the four Gatekeepers, extremely tall, and, according to Tite Kubo, friends with Toshiro since before he became a Shinigami.**

**(13) Just in case someone doesn't know, the Sahara refers to the Sahara Desert, which, by association, one would assume is rather difficult to freeze.**

**_IMPORTANT!_ part. So, I have NOT fixed my computer. I'm so sorry, the com-fixing people are lazy, I guess. I will get the second chapter up A.S.A.P. when I finish it or when I get the com back, whichever comes first. Sigh. Please review! Even if you want to flame, well, it's your choice, I won't really care either way, i.e. flames used to melt all the ice in my room from when Toshiro found out I called him 'tiny'. Hehe.**

**Thanks to my reviewers, Ziya Hitsugaya, Writing Bunny, Winter Lover in the Snow, Ice Prince Hitsugaya, and lili, my only anonymous reviewer whom I didn't properly thank via PM yet (please review again ;]). Also thanks to the people who alerted/favourited this story, I really appreciate the support, and please drop a line next time okay? Thanks. :)**

**And thanks to Ice Prince Hitsugaya for beta'ing this!**

**-T.A.G.A. 3**


	3. The Test

ICE DRAGON CHRONICLES

By: The Awesome God Apollo

Disclaimer: If I was Tite Kubo/owned Bleach, it would just be some random comic that nobody reads in the magazine. It isn't. Catch my drift?

CHAPTER 2

Kyouraku Shunsui was not stupid.

Whatever else people might have thought of him, his intelligence was actually close to on par with Urahara Kisuke. He just preferred to hide that intelligence behind a mask of drunkenness and frivolousness. He, like Urahara, would pretend to be oblivious while quietly analyzing everything for further use later.

It was with this thought in mind that he drunkenly greeted Rangiku while cautiously scrutinizing the boy standing beside her.

Boy was somewhat of an understatement. He barely reached Rangiku's waist if he stood up straight and his large eyes and spiked hair gave him an extreme child-like appearance. But the absence of naïveté and innocence in his eyes differentiated him from every other child Shunsui had ever seen in Soul Society or the World of the Living.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing about the child that intrigued him. Ignoring the rarity of someone his age allowed inside Seireitei (with the exception of Yachiru, but they only made that exception because Zaraki had been standing there, holding his sword in a rather threatening manner), the very fact that he was in Seireitei was somewhat of a surprise. Normally, no one was allowed inside of the Court of Pure Souls without being an Academy student or a Shinigami. That, coupled with the fact that he was with a high-ranking officer, was something any idiot would have been interested by.

The thing that interested Shunsui most was his appearance.

Now, he wasn't the type to hold prejudices based on how someone looked. He himself had been judged too many times on appearance to count. However, the kid's... unique appearance held enough significance for Shunsui to actually care. It wasn't the first time he had seen hair and eyes like that.

That was the problem.

Of course, he had never seen that combination together. It made him wonder if the kid in front of him, glaring at him with wide eyes, was the true reincarnation.

Shunsui had lived a long time. Millennia, even. He had seen one of the previous reincarnations, and she had had white hair. When he had asked his sensei, he had replied that the one before had teal eyes. It seemed to be a recurring pattern that each one would have a different defining characteristic of the Guardian. According to legend, though, no one since the Guardian himself had had both his eyes and hair. Until now, it seemed.

He was able to take all these things in with a brief glance, and idly listened to his "Ran-chan" while watching the kid glare at him out of the corner of his eyes.

Few people could actually read Shunsui. Of course, those close to him could, like his best friends, Jyuushirou and Retsu, his teacher, Yama-jii, his lieutenant, sweet Nanao-chan, and more recently, Rangiku. But when he looked at those cold eyes, he got the feeling his every expression was being analyzed carefully, his haori and posture noted and filed away for later, much like how Shunsui himself worked. He got the feeling that the kid would make a great tactician.

He tuned in to Rangiku's chatter once more as she asked him a question.

"What are you doing here, Shunsui?" **(1)**

"Oh, you know, all the bars have the best sake! And Nanao-chan confiscated mine..." he gave his best drunken bedazzling smile and watched as the boy's eyes narrowed further. His head was cocked to the side, still analyzing him. "Who's your friend, Ran-chan?"

"Huh?" She turned as though she had forgotten the kid was there, though all three of them were aware it was just an act. "Oh, this is Sh- umm, Hits-... Ano... What was your name again?"

The kid's eye twitched in annoyance. "It's Hitsugaya Toshiro. Jidanbou already mentioned it. Weren't you listening at all?"

"-and I'm taking him to the Academy!" she continued as though he hadn't spoken at all. He rolled his eyes at her antics. Shunsui smirked. Interesting kid, indeed.

"Sou ka? Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Wait, Who said you were coming?" Rangiku retorted, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm not invited? So cruel, Ran-chan!" Cue fake sob.

Toshiro scowled in annoyance as he watched the two continue their petty argument. He turned away from them. "Let's just go. " He stalked off in the other direction.

Rangiku and Shunsui stared after him and exchanges glances with each other.

Rangiku raised her eyebrows. "Do you think we should tell him the Academy is in the other direction?"

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

It didn't take long for them to catch up to him. He was a child and they had used shunpo. Despite that, Shunsui was still fairly impressed with how fast the kid moved. For someone with legs so short, anyway.

The trio made their way towards the Academy, Rangiku and Shunsui chattering light-heartedly while Toshiro followed in stony silence. Eventually they reached the high, reinforced walls of the Spiritual Arts Academy. In the dead of night, the eerie silence was deafening. The reinforced iron gates sagged on their hinges, dwarfing Toshiro even more than usual. Toshiro stared at the gates in trepidation and sweat-dropped as he realised they were locked.

He spun around to face Rangiku, a vein throbbing in his temple. "How the hell are we supposed to get in there? Did you even _think_ that the gates might be locked? We came all the way out here for nothing!" he exclaimed.

Shunsui and Rangiku shared amused glances.

"Think you can get in there, Ran-chan?" He smirked at her and she grinned back cheekily.

"I dunno, Shunsui, why don't I try?"

Toshiro opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when Rangiku raised her foot and stepped...onto thin air. She walked up the invisible staircase as easily as if it was solid. Toshiro gaped, unable to comprehend how she had accomplished such a feat. Shunsui laughed inwardly at his amazement. Then Toshiro frowned.

"That's all well and good for you, but how do you expect me to get up there?" Rangiku looked back at Shunsui from where she was hovering in mid-air, close to the top of the wall. Shunsui grinned, getting her message.

Toshiro snapped, "What are you-" he was interrupted as Shunsui swept him off his feet and tucked him under his arm, stepping into mid-air and mimicking Rangiku.

Toshiro squirmed under his arm, kicking, punching and shouting furiously. Rangiku wasn't sure if she should be amused or terrified; some of Toshiro's threats didn't sound particularly idle. Shunsui sweat-dropped at the kid's extensive and rather colourful vocabulary.

As soon as they passed the top of the wall, something tingled at the back of Shunsui's spine. He ignored it and kept going, finally setting down the squirming bundle as he reached the ground. Said bundle glared at him with baleful eyes, silently reproaching Shunsui for treating him so carelessly. Shunsui just smiled innocently back. Toshiro stood up from where he had been unceremoniously dumped on the ground and brushed off his clothes, refusing to look at either Shinigami in the eye. Rangiku laughed at the two of them.

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

The three of them made their way towards the Academy building in the same manner as before; Rangiku and Shunsui chattering cheerily behind and Toshiro leading the way in stony silence.

Shunsui suddenly stopped, causing Rangiku to stop short and grab the back of Toshiro's clothing, which made him stumble backwards and nearly lose his balance. He shook off the hand grumpily but jumped when a shadowy figure suddenly appeared a few meters from where they were standing.

The figure approached them, revealing himself to be a tall, middle-aged man. His hair was grey at the temples, but darkened into pitch black towards the top of his head. His black Shinigami shihakushou was open to the point where his rather ample stomach bulged outwards and a high, purple collar surrounded his neck. Tacky golden jewellery adorned his large hands and his thick lips were pulled into a frown as he glared at them. **(2)**

"Who are you to break into the Academy so late? Explain yourself!" he demanded.

Matsumoto stepped forward and replied. "I'm a Shinigami from Division 10. I want to apply to enter this boy into the Academy." At this, she pushed Toshiro forward into the man's line of sight. Toshiro just sighed in annoyance and stared up at the man, craning his neck to look him in the eyes.

The man let out a short, sharp laugh that sounded more like a duck than anything else. "This brat? No way can this _midget_ have enough power to even register, let alone make it to the Academy! Are you serious, lady? Any idiot can see that!" He leered at her. Rangiku's eyes narrowed in anger. Toshiro was about to say something when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Shunsui stepped forward. "Yare yare, what's the problem here?" He tilted his hat downwards, carefully making sure his signature pink haori could be seen slung over his shoulders.

The man turned to him as though to make fun of him as well when he caught sight of the pink monstrosity over his shoulders and paled considerably. "K-K-Kyouraku-taicho! What are you doing here?"

"Didn't the Headmaster say that any special cases would be attended to him personally?"

"B-but... He's too young!"

"Which makes him a special case. C'mon, Ran-chan, kiddo-" he ignored the growl rather cheerfully, "-let's go see Chojiro." At these words, any colour that had remained in the man's face disappeared. Shunsui gathered that he and the Headmaster weren't on such great terms.

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

Shunsui lead the way to the Headmaster's office. Having visited his old friend many times before, he knew the route by heart. And as they walked Shunsui enjoyed the terrified silence the man behind him was wallowing in. He wasn't normally one to flaunt his captaincy, but this was just hilarious.

Once again the kid trailed behind him, but the unusual thing was that Rangiku was completely silent. She walked beside Toshiro and kept shooting glares at the man walking meekly behind them. It didn't really surprise Shunsui though. There was no love lost between Rangiku and _anyone_ in that particular family after all.

After walking down the windy and rather complicated passageways, Shunsui finally stopped in front of a door. It was a traditional Japanese door, same as the rest they had passed on the way, but it was double the size. A sign adorned the wall beside it, which read 'Headmaster : Takahashi Chojiro'. Shunsui wasn't particularly shocked that the light was still on despite the time.

Discarding any and all polite courtesy, he slid open the door, stepping in despite protests from the man behind. The others filed in silently as a tired face looked up to meet his.

"Hello, Shunsui, rather late for a visit, isn't it?" The smooth baritone of his friend's voice greeted him, albeit rather strained from fatigue. Shunsui grinned in response.

"Still haven't learnt to keep up on paperwork?"

The retort was instantaneous. "Still haven't learnt to knock?"

Shunsui grinned cheerily and chuckled. "It's good to see you again, Chojiro."

"Yeah, you too, but it's been busy recently. Unfortunately, I don't have a lieutenant who can do all my paperwork for me, unlike you. So I'm afraid I really don't have time to go out for a late night drink, as much as I'd like to." he replied without missing a beat.

"Aa, but I'm here on business. I wanna enroll this kid in the Academy."

Chojiro raised his eyebrows. "I know I said we entertain special cases, but this one must be pretty damn special for you to actually walk all the way here."

Shunsui's only response was to shove the kid forward. Chojiro's eyebrows shot up so high that they were in danger of disappearing into his graying hair as he took in first the kid's height, and then his hair, eyes, and age. His expression didn't change as he turned to his long-time friend.

"Can I have a word with you? Alone?" He aimed a pointed look in the other three's **(3)** direction and they turned to walk out again, taking the hint.

As soon as they were out the door, Chojiro turned to his friend. "What are you thinking? You can't enter that kid into the Academy! He's too young! You know we don't accept kids in at that age!"

"I'm not the one who wanted to enter him. Besides, Ran-chan told me that his reiatsu is seated-officer level. We can't leave someone like that our in Rukongai, no matter what their age." Shunsui replied, dropping his flippancy instantly. "Besides, didn't you see his hair and eyes? Look familiar?"

Chojiro's eyes widened. "You don't think..."

Shunsui nodded. "It's highly likely. I'm almost positive. He looks exactly the same as the Guardian is rumoured to."

"But that's not possible! I can barely sense his reiatsu at all! I should be able to if he's really... And they've never been found this young before!"

"There's a first time for everything. It's possible that he's controlling it, or something's controlling it for him. If you don't believe me, test him. The same way every student makes it into the Academy. That way we can know for sure."

"...Alright. I suppose it can't hurt. Let them in."

Shunsui walked to the door, satisfied with the outcome of his discussion. He slid the door open, only for Rangiku to fall face first into the room from where her ear had been pressed into the door. He noted Toshiro's facepalm and smirked.

Rangiku jumped up, not a trace of embarrassment on her face. "Well, let's get on with it! Is he in or not?"

The Headmaster sighed. "Even if I was convinced, as a formality, all students must undergo a test to ensure they possess reiryoku. It won't take long, though." An enraged sound came from behind the four. Chojiro turned around. "Is there a problem, Marejirosaburo-san?"

The man withered under the Headmaster's eye. "No, sir."

"Good." Chojiro turned around and removed a box about a foot long **(4)** from his desk. He reached inside and removed an orb with a diameter of about 6 inches. **(5)** He unwrapped the cloth that surrounded it and balanced it precariously in his hand. Shunsui glanced at it.

The Reiryoku Orb. Rather aptly named considering it measured reiryoku. It would glow based on a person's spiritual pressure, and was used to consider any and all candidates for the Academy. Chojiro, being the Headmaster, had his own for special cases.

He handed it to Toshiro. "Try and concentrate your power into there. It will glow based on how strong it is and we can go from there." Chojiro stated.

Toshiro took it in his hands and nodded. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, but unlike usual, the orb didn't immediately begin to glow. Chojiro threw Shunsui a perplexed look.

Rangiku piped up. "Channel that voice that you hear all the time. Listen to it carefully." The minute nod was the only response she got. Chojiro looked at Shunsui and mouthed, 'voice?' but all he got in return was a 'just watch'. Toshiro furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.

A tiny spark lit up in the middle of the clear orb. As they watched, it grew, and grew... and kept growing. It filled the orb, radiating a pure white glow. The orb began to radiate heat, so much so that Shunsui, standing a meter away, could feel some sweat trickling down his face, but even as Shunsui strained his eyes he could see ice forming on the edge. The delicate orb began to shiver and cracks formed at the edge. A low thrum filled the room, emanating from the young boy standing in the centre.

And then the orb exploded in a rain of blood and glass.

**Author's Note:**

**(1) I accidentally wrote this as "Why are you doing her, Shunsui?" and couldn't stop laughing for like, 20 minutes. So excuse any typos immediately after, I was still giggling like crazy. Mental images. O.o**

**(2) Now let's see how many of you can guess who he is. There a plenty of hints there. XD But there is not much information to be found on this guy, so if I got anything wrong then let me know. But he SHOULD remind you very strongly of a certain someone. Guess who :)**

**(3) He-whose-name-has-not-been-revealed is still there. Just thought I'd clarify.**

**(4) A foot is about 30 and a half centimeters. I normally use the metric system, but most of my readers seem to be from America... *shrugs***

**(5) Again, same thing. But 6 inches is about 15 centimeters.**

**I AM SO SORRY! I know a lot of people have been waiting for my update, and I feel really bad about it. I have been swamped with work recently and this chapter was giving me problems. Like, BAD problems. It hated me, I swear. Which is why it isn't as long as I'd like. I have to call in my BFF to help me out. Which she did, by the way, so you can thank her for that.**

**Also, because of my stupid school, I'm kinda sick right now. On Friday last week, we had to go and clean a beach, and it started to rain. RAIN. And they wouldn't let us take shelter. Me, being the never-prepared person I am, had surprisingly brought an umbrella, but a friend of mine couldn't afford to get sick because she had a competition, so I gave up my umbrella to her, and now am sick. And rather miserable. Headaches, nausea, and lots of other nasty things that I'm sure you don't want to know about. And also, I have tests this week. Which I honestly can't be bothered to study for. So yeah. But hopefully I should be able to get the next chapter out this weekend? I've started on it anyway. So... soon.**

**Well, anyway, thanks to my reviewers! *****sniff***** You guys are so awesome. I have now got 14 reviews. FOURTEEN. For TWO chapters. One of which is a prologue. It's amazing. And also one of the reasons I felt bad for not updating. So, to the people who reviewed, a.k.a. Ice Prince Hitsugaya, Ziya Hitsugaya, Winter Lover in the Snow, foxdemonsrock, SaturnXK, Special Agent Tee-vah and ****cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese****, my amazing people, I am proud to call you friends/whatever we so happen to be. I just consider us friends k? Thanks to all the people who alerted and favourited as well, please drop a line next time okay? Love y'all!**

**Thank you to Ice Prince Hitsugaya and my BFF ****cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese for beta'ing/co-writing in that order. **

**I promise the next update will be up A.S.A.P. Which will be sooner this time. Hopefully by my next Monday which is, by fanfiction(dot)net time, Sunday the 28****th**** of February.**

**-T.A.G.A. 3**


	4. In Between

ICE DRAGON CHRONICLES

By: The Awesome God Apollo

Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, Toshiro would be the main character. And would have owned Aizen. And Gin. And Harribel. And Shawlong Qufang. And Yukio. (Oh wait, he did.) He's not. I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

_**IMPORTANT!**_ Read at the very least the last bit of my author's note, even if you think it looks long, because it's important. Start from where it says _**IMPORTANT!**_ at the very least if you're rushing.

Chapter 3 – In Between

Takahashi Chojiro was well-informed.

Well, at least he liked to think so. Having been around for as long as he had, having gone through the Academy, then through the ranks of Shinigami, he had made a lot of friends in between. Though he eventually returned to the Academy as a teacher and finally became the Headmaster, his... _friends_ kept him in the loop, and since he knew people who were captains (he had learned much from Shunsui's big mouth), as well as those who were a little lower in terms of rank, he was rather in tune to the latest in Seireitei, be it gossip or fact.

And it was for this reason that he was not easily surprised. He liked to think he knew it all, or at least enough not to be caught off guard by anything that could be thrown at him these days.

Naturally, the Universe just _had_ to prove him wrong.

He was absolutely flabbergasted as he stared at the remains of the Orb in the child's hands. That Orb had been built by Urahara Kisuke, the genius of geniuses who was said to be the most intelligent man ever to have lived. It was virtually indestructible, in his entire tenure as Headmaster, it had never been broken, not by anyone, no matter who they were or had gone on to become. Not Kuchiki Byakuya, not Soifon; Kenpachi Zaraki had come close but had only made a hairline crack. Just who was this kid?

His reiatsu had felt _off_, though. Like it had been held back for too long, and had just been suddenly let go. But no one, no matter what their age, should have that much control over their reiatsu without training. Even full-fledged Shinigami had problems with it, and this kid had never even set foot inside of Seireitei before, as far as he was aware. Everything about this child seemed to be just too surreal.

Chojiro stepped towards the boy. Minor cuts and grazes covered the his arms all the way up to his elbows, while two small shards of glass were shallowly embedded in his palms. As Chojiro reached out towards his still upturned hands, the child flinched away but winced as he instinctively clenched his fists.

"Relax. I'm trying to help." Chojiro couldn't blame him for being wary, the Orb _had_ just exploded.

Hitsugaya bit his lip in indecision, and when he didn't reply after several moments, Chojiro sighed and continued, "I'm just going to heal you. Hold out your hands."

A spark of curiosity ignited in the boy's eyes and he hesitantly extended his hands towards the man in front of him. Being the Headmaster, Chojiro was, and had to be, well-versed in all Shinigami arts, which included kidou. As Hitsugaya watched him with carefully concealed intrigue, the man placed his hands so that they were hovering just above the other's and concentrated his reiatsu carefully. A familiar, gentle yet tingling sensation spread warmth across his intertwined hands in a soft green glow, very different from the harsh light of the Orb from before.

Hitsugaya was watching the process with much interest as the grazes on his arms simply sealed as though they had never existed. This left his skin as smooth as it had been before it was marred by wounds from the Orb. The glow waned slowly and eventually died, and Hitsugaya held up his hands and flexed them experimentally.

"What did you do?" his voice was soft.

Before Chojiro could respond, the child was engulfed in a crushing embrace from behind by the strawberry-blond. His head was buried in her rather ample... assets, something he realized immediately as breathing became much more difficult for him.

She simply squealed to him; "Isn't this great? I knew you were powerful! Didn't I tell you that you needed to join the Academy! You'll make a great Shinigami someday! I'll even let you join my division! Maybe you would be the fourth seat if-"

Her babbling was interrupted by Shunsui. "Maa, Ran-chan... Maybe you should loosen your hold, he doesn't look like he can breathe..."

She looked down, only to finally notice Hitsugaya's frantic attempts to break free of her iron grip. She released him and he staggered away from her, red in the face, but from embarrassment or lack of oxygen, Chojiro couldn't tell.

After the kid regained his breath, Chojiro continued before he could be interrupted again; "That was kidou."

At the blank look he received, he elaborated. "It's a branch of Shinigami arts, next to hoho, hakuda and zanjutsu. You'll learn about them in your classes. There are two types of classes, practical and theory. The first years should have mostly finished theory by now so you'll have to work hard to catch up. The teachers will be willing to help you if you need it."

There came a slight scoff from the doorway where Marejirosaburo stood but it was blissfully and dutifully ignored. Chojiro sat down heavily in his chair and pulled a form from the depths of his desk drawer. That just so happened to be invisible beyond the mounds of paperwork that was piled on his tabletop.

He turned abruptly towards them; "We need to take care of some administrative matters first. I need to formally enroll you, and you'll need a uniform..." he said absentmindedly, filling out blank after blank on the form.

"To enroll in the Academy mid-year, you need a Shinigami sponsor. Shunsui, I'm using your name. No complaints." He continued talking as he also kept writing on the sheets of paper before him.

Shunsui smirked and tipped his hat forward. "It's not as though I get a choice, ne?"

The kid looked torn between being grateful to the man or angry at the fact that he was dependent on him. Chojiro moved on before either said anything; "The problem is accommodation. Since you're so late, and the school has had an unusual amount of new student in the last few years, all our first-year dorms are full. I'll likely be accused of favoritism if I do this, but I'll have to assign you a sixth-year room. It's all we have left at the moment."

This time, the indignant snort was far too loud to ignore. Chojiro folded his arms on the table and looked at the opposing man; "Is there a problem, Marejirosaburo-san?"

The man looked enraged; "With all due respect, _sir_, he's just a brat! It's bad enough you're letting him in, but giving him a sixth-year room? It's ridiculous!"

Chojiro folded his hands together and simply raised a brow; "Might I remind you, Marejirosaburo-san, that I am the Headmaster and I have the final say here, not you. Hitsugaya-kun has passed the entrance exam with flying colors, and as that is the only necessary requirement for someone to enter the Spiritual Arts Academy, even I at this point have no right to refuse him entry."

Chojiro swore he heard the woman snickering behind her hand at the scene as Marejirosaburo deflated like a pricked balloon. Shunsui had hidden his own smirk below his hat once more, while the child sported a frown of impatience, but the amused twinkle in his eyes said otherwise.

Chojiro bound the papers together, as to be ready for filing later; "The official registration will take all of tomorrow, but I'm unofficially assigning you the room now anyway. It's late, get some rest and take care of the rest of your affairs tomorrow. You need to get a uniform, and get whatever books from the library. Just give the librarian this."

He handed the child a note he had written while he was talking. Taking it as a dismissal, the kid gave him a quick bow. Just as Marejirosaburo was about to stalk out, Chojiro stopped him; "Marejirosaburo-san, would you be so kind as to show Hitsugaya-kun his room? It's number 1010 **(1)** on the 3rd floor."

He chuckled as he distinctly heard a growl as the man walked off stiffly, followed by the boy.

"Not the best of friends, are they?" Shunsui was standing in front of the desk.

"No, not really. He's from a noble family, you know how they can be."

Shunsui nodded; "Do I ever. Saa, Ran-chan, let's not tarry **(2)** here any longer, there are still open sake bars!"

He turned to Chojiro with an almost challenging smile; "Maybe you should get some sleep for a change..."

Chojiro returned the jab; "Maybe you should do some work for a change. Your Lieutenant might die of happiness. But we both know that's impossible."

Shunsui grinned as he walked out, the woman pulling his arm impatiently as he shot a smile at him over his shoulder; "Nice seeing you again, Chojiro. Jaa!"

Chojiro smirked and shook his head, going back to his never-ending pile of paperwork as the door closed.

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

(From here onwards, it's sort of Toshiro's POV, just not in first person)

Toshiro followed quietly after the man in front of him. Who obviously disliked him with a passion and seemed to want to make his life miserable by any means.

It didn't matter anyway. Toshiro was more concerned about other things, namely Granny and Momo. Granny...Would she be worried when she realized he was gone? When that thought crossed his mind, he seriously contemplated going back to see her right then, but he quickly ruled it out. It wasn't like they'd let him anyway, not at this time at night. He'd go see her after he got his uniform. She'd be busy in the morning anyway, she normally worked in order to pay for food to satisfy his hunger. At this, he felt another pang of guilt and resolved to make it up to her. But he couldn't...wouldn't go back. He wouldn't be responsible for killing his grandmother.

Momo...What would she say when she saw him? What could he say when he saw her? She had left them. Both of them. She hadn't even kept in touch, despite all her promises. They had been so close before she left, and now, would he just be a kouhai **(3)** to her? Would she be happy to see him? Or angry at him for leaving their grandmother? Would she even talk to him anymore? Oh Kami, what if she found out he nearly killed Granny...?

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the man in front of him stopping until he crashed rather unpleasantly into the man's rear. He craned his neck upwards to meet a scowling face.

"Watch where you're going, brat." He thrust a set of keys in his face, and Toshiro accepted them quickly, wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"This is your room. Have _fun_." He spat the last word out like venom and stormed away.

Toshiro watched with a raised brow before turning to the door in front of him. It was a simple, Japanese-style sliding door with a strange-looking lock **(4)** set on the side. It had the number '1010' etched on the wall beside it. He unlocked the door and went in after removing his shoes. **(5)**

The room was pretty nice, nicer than he was used to. They had a futon in the corner furthest from the door, and there was a simple desk and chair set in another corner. A plain cupboard and drawer set was lined up against one wall, next to a door that he assumed led to the bathroom. The walls were a simple beige and there was a window above the desk, overlooking a large piece of land that looked like a garden. A bit too tired to explore any further, he lay down on the bed, fully intending to get some sleep before dawn came.

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

Toshiro had a body clock that woke him up at exactly dawn each day. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes, the sky was a beautiful orange, stained by the barely-risen sun. He went into the bathroom and rinsed his face with cold water from the tap and attempted to smooth out his rumpled clothing and hair so he wouldn't look like he just got out of bed. It didn't really work, not for his hair anyway. He sighed and left the room, locking it carefully behind him.

It didn't take him very long to get lost. The school was a virtual labyrinth, each path split into two or more, and those would lead to even more hallways. Toshiro couldn't ask for directions since it seemed that nobody was up yet...Well, almost nobody. As Toshiro passed one of the windows in the hall he noticed a young man with most of his hair swept into a bun **(6)** training with a sword on the grounds. He contemplated finding his way there and asking him for directions, but dismissed the thought quickly. Eventually Toshiro noticed someone coming out of a door.

It was a young man, who looked like he was in his late twenties (physically of course). He wore rimless glasses and his ebony hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. He was wearing the same outfit that Matsumoto had been wearing last night, which meant that he was a teacher, not a student. Toshiro decided to ask him for directions. He looked far kinder than the man from last night anyway.

"Ano, excuse me, but do you know where the entrance onto the Academy grounds is? I'm new here and I'm lo- I can't find it." He quickly corrected himself so he wouldn't seem incompetent.

The man smiled amicably. "New here, huh? Oh! You must be the kid Marejirosaburo-san was compl- telling me about this morning!"

He was beaming now. "It's nice to meet you. From what I heard, and from your age, I can tell you have a lot of potential. I'm Tachibana-sensei. I'll be teaching you kidou for the rest of the year."

The man was very hyper, Toshiro noted as he babbled on. At least he'd have one decent sensei this year. "Sensei, I need to leave the grounds to get my uniform, but I can't find the entrance. Would you mind...?"

"Sure, sure. I was just headed into Seireitei. C'mon, kid, let's go!" He ruffled his hair, causing Toshiro's eye to twitch slightly, but he followed obediently behind as the man bounded off.

They passed through many halls, and try as he might, Toshiro couldn't keep track of all the twists and turns. After ten minutes, he began to doubt Tachibana-sensei actually knew where he was going, but eventually they reached a large hall.

Until then he had been tuning out Tachibana-sensei's mindless chatter, but he started listening as soon as the man started telling him about the Academy.

"This is the dining hall, as you can see, it's rather empty now, but it's mostly for the students and almost all of them are asleep right now. Us teachers have our own separate dining hall. This room leads to a lot of different places. The block we just came from was the housing block, that's here all the students live. The teachers live there too, on the first floor."

"The block over there," he indicated towards the far end of the hall; "is the classroom block, where all the classes are. All the venues for practical lessons are in that general area as well."

"That door," he pointed to the left, "leads to the hallway that's goes to the garden. The library is also near the end of that hallway. And the door leading to the entrance hall of the Academy is over there."

He strode over to the door that was to their right, and swung it open. A large, empty hall, smaller than the dining hall, stood in front of him.

"This is basically the central area of the school. It leads to all the blocks I just told you about as well as the Headmaster's office. And it opens up to the front grounds, which is where the entrance to Seireitei is. That's where we're headed."

Toshiro followed silently, amazed by the sheer size of the Academy. They walked across the lawn in front of the Academy towards the tall gates they had jumped, or walked, over last night. At the reminder, Toshiro instantly felt his mood darken. He would get back at those two someday...

The man in front of him was completely oblivious to any danger he might have been in. They walked together to the entrance. The man guarding the entrance sent them a slightly curious look upon noticing Toshiro, but let them through anyway, probably since Tachibana-sensei was a teacher. They walked a bit further but Tachibana-sensei came to a halt at the fork in the path.

"You're going to get your uniform, right? The store is in the retail section in that direction. I'm going to visit a friend of mine in Division 5 before my classes, so we part ways here. I look forward to having you in my classes!"

Toshiro bowed slightly; "Arigato, Tachibana-sensei." He walked off down the path he indicated.

Toshiro walked for about fifteen minutes before more stores and restaurants started appearing, until he stood in the heart of the retail district in Seireitei. He felt a bit lost when everyone was wearing a shihakushou and he was by far the shortest person there. Not to mention everyone was at least thrice his age. Toshiro wandered around for at least 45 minutes before he found the store that sold uniforms. He heard a cheery jingle as he pushed the door open and went in.

_Meanwhile..._

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, sir, my colleague is a good source of information... especially when he is complaining..."

"Very well, I'll send someone to check it out. Good job. Keep me informed."

_Back at the store..._

"Welcome!" a chirpy voice greeted Toshiro from behind a counter.

As the figure drew closer, she continued. "Kiddo, are you lost? Did your sister or brother send you to collect their uniform?"

Toshiro frowned. Wasn't it obvious? Normal souls weren't allowed in Seireitei..."Iie, **(7)** actually, I'm a new student."

She giggled unabashedly. "Oh! So you must be the new student the Academy just accepted!"

Upon noticing Toshiro's perplexed look, she continued; "The Headmaster sent me a Hell Butterfly."

When he heard that, Toshiro got even more confused, but he decided not to mention that to the overly-happy woman in front of him. He'd go look it up in the library later. "You need a uniform right? I don't know whether I have anything that will fit you, you're so tiny!"

Toshiro growled softly under his breath but the woman took it in stride. "Let me go get some uniforms and we'll see what fits you." She beamed and walked into the back of the store, leaving Toshiro staring dumbfounded at her.

She came bouncing back with a pile of fabric in her arms. "These are the smallest male uniforms I have..." she held them up and handed them to him before shoving him towards the back of the store.

"Go on, change!"

She didn't even bother trying to restrain her laughter when he stepped out of the small room. The entire ensemble was way too big... the sleeves and pants lengths alone were at least 7 inches (18-ish cm) too long and draped over his hands and feet, completely obscuring them, and the fabric was so loose he looked like he was drowning in it, the collar slipping slightly down his shoulder. He looked like a child playing dress-up and he knew it. **(8)**

Toshiro gave the woman his best glare but it didn't seem to work, if anything, she laughed harder. After almost 5 minutes straight, she finally stopped laughing long enough to gain some semblance of coherency. Not that that helped much. "Ah! KAWAII~! **(9)**"

He winced at her shrill voice and folded his arms, or would have if the massive amount of cloth hadn't stopped him. When she stopped squealing to regain her breath, he cut her off before she could continue; "Oi, I can't attend the Academy like this! I need a proper uniform!"

She grinned at him. "Welllll... I do have several female uniforms at the back... The sizes _are_ smaller..."

She didn't get to finish before she was cut off by a death glare; "Okay, okay, we'll just alter this one! _Sheesh_..." she muttered the last word under her breath.

She grabbed a handful of pins from the back room and proceeded to prod and poke at the chibi. Toshiro stood there for at least an hour while the woman poked and prodded at him, refusing to let him shift even slightly as she jabbed him...well, his uniform, full of pins. Finally she was done; "Go change out of that, and don't you dare take any of the pins out, or we'll have to do all of that all over again."

He stalked off in as dignified a manner as he could but the woman's silent giggles from behind his back told him it wasn't working. He pulled off the uniform as fast as possible, and slipped back into his own, much more suitably-sized clothes in relief. Toshiro walked out of the room and handed her the bundle of fabric. She smiled down at him.

"I'll need to make the alterations now, since I assume you want it by tomorrow. It'll only take me an hour, so you can leave the store, but come back to pick it up, okay?" He nodded and left thankfully.

Once he was out of that hellhole and away from the crazy woman, Toshiro seriously thought about going straight to see his grandmother, since she would have probably noticed him missing by then. Although he only had an hour, and he wanted to spend the rest of the day with her, so there was no point going to see Granny and leaving halfway to pick up his uniform. With that thought in mind, Toshiro wandered around the area near the shop, ignoring the eerie feeling of someone's eyes on him.

Most people didn't even glance at him, too preoccupied or busy to even notice the small boy beside them. One or two would occasionally send him curious looks, puzzled as to why a child was inside Seireitei, but he just walked away before they could question him. He walked past several bars and restaurants, as well as other shops that sold random trinkets and even more bars (Shinigami _really_ seemed to have a liking for alcohol...), before turning back to head towards the store and the crazy woman again after most of the hour was up.

He was so distracted while he was walking that he didn't notice someone standing right in front of him until he crashed straight into their chest.

"Well, hello theh, lil' one!" **(10)**

Toshiro backed up straight away when he heard that voice. It sent shivers down his spine. He looked up and saw a man towering over him. He had silver hair that just barely fell down to his shoulders, and a wide smile that stretched across his face permanently to the point that his eyes were closed. The man was wearing a normal Shinigami shihakushou, with one exception... He had a captain's haori draped over his shoulders.

Toshiro instinctively moved away from the man. He looked strange, almost as though he had been expecting them to meet... but that wasn't possible... Was it?

The man bent down so that he was eye-to-eye with him, and Toshiro straightened, pushing aside his fear in favor of indignation. He wasn't a child, dammit!

"I think yeh know Ran-chan, ne, chibi-chan?" Toshiro bristled in anger.

"Who are you?" Good, his voice didn't waver.

The man grinned. "Yeh've got guts, I like tha'. I jus' said, Ran-chan tol' meh abou' yeh. Mah name's Ichimaru Gin."

**Author's Note:**

**(1) Yes, I SO went there.**

**(2) Sorry about this. First thing that came to mind. I'm doing Shakespeare for literature.**

**(3) Kouhai, for those who don't know, is the opposite of senpai/sempai. It basically means junior, and is what, for example, a sophomore would use to address a freshman. A freshie speaking to a senior would call them senpai/sempai.**

**(4) It's the western kind of lock, I don't know whether they have those in traditional Japanese doors, but I just put it in anyway. And Toshiro calls it strange because he's never seen one before.**

**(5) I suppose I should call them tabi, but I don't want to, since I'm not sure when exactly one uses tabi anyway. I know they come with the shihakushou though.**

**(6) XD**

**(7) Iie, or iie, basically means no. It's pronounced ee-eh. Yeah.**

**(8) I fail at humour. TT_TT Which is weird because normally I can make people laugh their $$es off...**

**(9) Yes, I did just make that woman a Shiro fangirl. I know. Btw, kawaii means cute.**

**(10) I hope I got it right guys, this is my first time writing...him... _ :/**

**Rant starts here:**

**OMG IS IT TRUE THAT BLEACH IS ENDING IN MARCH YOU GUYS? Because that's what a lot of people are saying. But I remember reading in an interview somewhere that Tite Kubo wanted to "continue Bleach for as long as possible, maybe even ten years? Who knows?" Gah! Noooo! DON'T END YET DAMMIT! I'VE ONLY BEEN A SHIRO-CHAN FANGIRL FOR 4 MONTHS! Okay, rant over.**

**On another note, LATEST EPISODE *SPOILER* SHIRO-CHAN VS YUKIO SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE~~~~~! *SPOILER OVER* *ahem* sorry.**

**I've decided to just randomly add epic quotes to my author's notes, and while I refuse to edit my old ones (too much hassle with all the typing, and clicking, and replacing... Meh), I'll just start here. So since I missed out three, I'll give you guys four this week, all off the top of my head!**

**-But they were Haverfords, a name in Maycomb County synonymous with jackass - To Kill A Mockingbird Chapter 1 (Word for word without the book! Take that, Literature-teacher-who-shall-not-be-named-lest-I'm-sued-for-defamation-not-that-I-can-be-since-I'm-a-minor!)**

**-I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying - Woody Allen**

**-Imitation is the sincerest form of television - Fred Allen**

**-There are two things in this world that are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe - Albert Einstein**

**On a random note, I was lying down in my room typing this out and studying for my last exam which was the day after then when suddenly this chiming noise comes from the TV room, turns out my domestic helper found an ants' nest in some random corner because my brother forgot to throw away some food stuff, and so she emptied the cupboard, and took out this huge-ass clock, and it started chiming. And now it won't stop! ARG!**

**Sorry for that. I enjoy being irrelevant. Author's notes provide a good place to vent. Speaking of which,**

**1) OMG I AM GOING TO DIE! I need to come up with a story based on the problems in the future for any one of these five categories: All in a Day's work (working hours, work vs relaxation, etc), Coal Reefs, Human Rights, Trade Barriers and Pharmaceuticals. TT_TT I'm completely drawing blanks here. **

**2) I entered my essay into the Royal Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition last year, and I'm entering again this year, and I'm just curious to know how many of you guys have heard of it/ever entered or are planning to enter it. Cos I am. Yeah. I actually intend to tweak it a bit and post it as a fanfiction.**

**Is it just me or did my writing style change somewhat? I dunno, it feels like it changed... This chapter didn't really flow, y'know? Normally they do. It doesn't seem as good. If you agree/disagree, tell me why or why not please. Its rather important for me to get back into my groove...**

_**IMPORTANT! **_**Okay, I am SO SO SORRY you guys for this late update. This is what happened, first, I wrote the wrong date last chapter, instead of Sunday 4th March I wrote 28th Feb, which was pretty impossible for me. Then, the week between the 28th and 4th, I got my results for my tests, and since I didn't study for them and did "badly" (c'mon! An 88% is pretty decent! Not the best, but decent!), my parents confiscated my laptop and banned me from the computer. Which was also why I didn't PM a lot of you guys. Sorry about that. I just got my laptop back. Also, I recently got addicted to Prince of Tennis sooo... Yeah. FUJI SYUUSUKE *heart***

**Anonymous Review Responses:**

**natheriver: Thank so much, nice to know you like it. Thanks again for the well-wishes, and yeah, good luck to you too, at least there are other people suffering too right? ;) Nah, it's okay. Your English is fine. XD P.S. please review again.**

**lili: Yay, you reviewed again! Assuming it's the same person, because honestly, what are the odds... Anyway, thanks so much! Hope this chapter didn't disappoint and please drop a line again!**

**cheese: Mmhmmmm. Getting lazy, are we? Pfffft. Just cos you're rich doesn't mean you have to have good taste, have you not seen that episode where he recommended the design for that phone in the SMA? I know you can't. :) You should've already read it anyway...**

**Someone: Nice name ;) You're welcome. So many people use the other system whose name I do not know so I thought I'd make life for you guys easier and just give both. Same in this chapter.**

**To the non-anonymous reviewers, I've been very lazy about replying to your reviews today. Sorry! I will A.S.A.P., k? Please review again!**

**I'm currently on a week-long holiday and hoping to churn out the next chapter soon. Please review! And thanks so much to the people who reviewed, claire-1010, keiriala, natheriver (anonymous person), lili (also anonymous person), Ice Prince Hitsugaya, Winter Lover in the Snow, foxdemonsrock, cheese (why do you persist in using that name when I know exactly who you are... anonymous person, sort of), The Swordsman, Prince of Winter Dragons, Someone (anonymous person), Countdown, bookworm83197 and Captain Bitch Ninja! :) Thanks so much for the people who alerted and favourited, and please remember to review next time :) Thanks also to Ice-Prince Hitsugaya for beta'ing and cheese for kicking my ass into gear.**

**Sorry for the super long author's note. ;) (This is longer than my normal, in terms of both chapter and author's note, so I hope they make up for each other.)**

**T.A.G.A. 3**


	5. TEASER

ICE DRAGON CHRONICLES

By: The Awesome God Apollo

**READ THIS NOTE FIRST! THIS IS JUST A TEASER! I wanted to get the whole chapter up, but there's no time. I'm sorry I haven't been online, but my mom thinks that fanfiction is a waste of precious time and has done all she can to stop me from using it. I just wrote this out really fast when she wasn't home, and I'm risking my ass updating, so I hope you people appreciate this! Also, I'm sorry I haven't been responding to PMs, or emails in foxdemonsrock's case. The soonest I'll be able to get online to do that is tomorrow I think. Thanks guys! I'll write in a notebook and do my best to update the real full chapter ASAP maybe tomorrow if lightning strikes. I'm not too sure about how I portrayed Gin, so if you think it's fine, or needs improvement, or even have suggestions for improvement, please leave a review so I can improve! Thanks!**

Chapter 5 – In Between Part 2

Ichimaru Gin was a genius.

That fact, in itself, was undisputable. he had graduated the academy in 2 years, and held the record ever since; the only person who had ever come close was Shiba Kaien, and he was a year behind.

Having said that, people generally... didn't like him. Maybe it was the constant lack of eye contact, or the perpetual, predatory smile, but people tended to avoid his company, with the sole exceptions being Ran-chan, and his captain-turned-colleague.

He had long ago learnt to recognize the few people that he could identify with. Those who had more talent than they knew what to do with, that were alienated for their intelligence, their tendency to stand out in a crowd. Shiba Kaien had been one. Aizen had been another. And the boy standing in front of him was one too.

Gin saw that spark of brilliance hidden in brilliant teal orbs, that deep-rooted loneliness that stemmed from always being too good at what he did. It was feeling Gin was very familiar with, himself. And the boy in front of him had it in spades. To catch so much attention at his age, even for a genius... Gin had a feeling there was more to the boy than even his well-trained eye could see. The very fact that he was in Seireitei, in the uniform store, spoke volumes.

The boy, Hitsugaya Toshiro, as he was informed, looked up at him. Gin immediately nicknamed him Chibi. (1) He had to crane his neck quite a lot, which quite obviously annoyed him. Gin felt his smile get wider. A frustrated teal eye glared through a lock of white hair that draped over his forehead.

"Yeh need ter watch where yer goin', chibi. It can be dangerous if yeh kip bumpin' inter strangers."

Chibi's back stiffened in indignation. "Mah mah, I'm sorreh, I didn' mean ta ruffle yer feathers, kid. What're yeh doin' in Seireitei?" Play dumb, those were his orders. Well, he could do that.

"I'm an Academy student." Venom laced his words and Gin nearly shivered at Chibi's icy tone. Nearly. He wasn't a genius for nothing. "And my name is Hitsugaya Toshiro, not kid." He spat the last word out vehemently, and Gin almost laughed.

"If yeh say so!" Gin cheerfully ruffled the white spikes and watched with glee as Chibi got even more irritated.

A small hand came up and slapped his away. "Let go of me! I don't even know who you are!"

Gin beamed down at the boy. "Tha's true. Well, jaa!" He turned on his heel and walked away. Gin could just imagine the expression on Chibi's face. It was probably priceless, but it didn't matter. He had done what he was ordered to do. (2)

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

Toshiro stared at the man's back, absolutely flabbergasted. He was a Captain, of a Division, no less, and he acted that way? If all Captains were as weird as Gin was, Toshiro didn't think he'd ever want to become one. (3)

**Author's Note:**

**(1) I can imagine Gin actually doing this. I dunno if it's just my opinion, but to me this is why he calls Toshiro "Chibi-taicho". Before he was a taicho, it was probably just Chibi.**

**(2) There's a reason this is so abrupt; it comes in later. That, and I didn't have much time.**

**(3) Hehe.**

**I'm really sorry about this, I really am. I will do my best to write out more than one chapter in my notebook so you guys can get multiple updates when I'm finally allowed back on! I hope you understand... *****feels bad*******

**T.A.G.A. 3**


	6. In Between Part 2

Ice Dragon Chronicles

By: The Awesome God Apollo

Disclaimer: At the moment, I'm struggling to post chapters of a fanfiction on a monthly basis because of my psycho family... As if I could manage to write, draw and post chapters weekly...

A.N.: Hi guys! I am _so_ sorry that this is so late. For those of you who didn't read the last author's note in the previous chapter (the teaser), my mom has suddenly become disapproving of fanfiction and has barely allowed me on the computer at all. I tried to convince her, but that didn't really go down so well, so I'm just gonna ignore her and update when I can. Read the author's note at the end for more details!

I would like to dedicate this chapter to two of the most amazing people I know on this site. **Foxdemonsrock** and **Ice Prince Hitsugaya**. It was **foxdemonsrock**'s birthday, and I know this is terribly late so please forgive me! *heart* Happy Birthday, hun! Thanks for everything you've done for me! And to **Ice Prince Hitsugaya**, who is ALSO an amazing writer, Happy Birthday as well, and I'm glad you had a good time. Thanks so much for helping me with this story! And congratulations on your 100th chapter, which I promise I am on my way to review, I just wanted to get this up ASAP! *heart*

To all my wonderful subscribers, thanks for being so patient and I hope you comment! To my amazing reviewers, I love you guys! I know I'm not the most consistent writer ever, but I will never abandon this story! I swear it on Toshiro's... uh, my life.

If you want me to dedicate a chapter to you because of your birthday, just review and tell me when your birthday is and I'd be happy to! :) If I missed it, well, I'm sorry. Next time round? Or maybe a super late one. Haha.

Chapter 5 – In Between Part 2

Ichimaru Gin was a genius.

That fact, in itself, was undisputable. He had graduated the academy in 2 years, and held the record ever since; the only person who had ever come close was Shiba Kaien, and he was a year behind.

Having said that, people generally... didn't like him. Maybe it was the constant lack of eye contact, or the perpetual, predatory smile, but people tended to avoid his company, with the sole exceptions being Ran-chan, and his captain-turned-colleague.

He had long ago learnt to recognize the few people that he could identify with. Those who had more talent than they knew what to do with, that were alienated for their intelligence, their tendency to stand out in a crowd. Shiba Kaien had been one. Aizen had been another. And the boy standing in front of him was one too.

Gin saw that spark of brilliance hidden in brilliant teal orbs, that deep-rooted loneliness that stemmed from always being too good at what he did. It was feeling Gin was very familiar with, himself. And the boy in front of him had it in spades. To catch so much attention at his age, even for a genius... Gin had a feeling there was more to the boy than even his well-trained eye could see. The very fact that he was in Seireitei, in the uniform store, spoke volumes.

The boy, Hitsugaya Toshiro, as he was informed, looked up at him. Gin immediately nicknamed him Chibi. **(1)** He had to crane his neck quite a lot, which quite obviously annoyed him. Gin felt his smile get wider. A frustrated teal eye glared through a lock of white hair that draped over his forehead.

"Yeh need ter watch where yer goin', chibi. It can be dangerous if yeh kip bumpin' inter strangers."

Chibi's back stiffened in indignation. "Mah mah, I'm sorreh, I didn' mean ta ruffle yer feathers, kid. What're yeh doin' in Seireitei?" Play dumb, those were his orders. Well, he could do that.

"I'm an Academy student." Venom laced his words and Gin nearly shivered at Chibi's icy tone. Nearly. He wasn't a genius for nothing. "And my name is Hitsugaya Toshiro, not kid." He spat the last word out vehemently, and Gin almost laughed.

"If yeh say so!" Gin cheerfully ruffled the white spikes and watched with glee as Chibi got even more irritated.

A small hand came up and slapped his away. "Let go of me! I don't even know who you are!"

Gin beamed down at the boy. "Tha's true. Well, jaa!" He turned on his heel and walked away. Gin could just imagine the expression on Chibi's face. It was probably priceless, but it didn't matter. He had done what he was ordered to do. **(2)**

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

Toshiro stared at the man's back, absolutely flabbergasted. He was a Captain, of a Division, no less, and he acted that way? If all Captains were as weird as he was, Toshiro didn't think he'd ever want to become one.

Ever. **(3)**

And where did he get off calling him Chibi, anyway? I mean, Toshiro knew he was... small, even for his age, but that man seemed to _know _it would irritate him! Sighing, half in indignation and half in relief that the man had left so quickly, he turned and made his way back to the store. Hopefully, the crazy woman would be done by now.

Honestly, with Matsumoto, the fat-ass instructor at the Academy, the tailor, and now the weirdo captain, Toshiro was beginning to get a pretty bad impression of the people who lived in Seireitei, and he had a feeling he hadn't seen anything yet.

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

His timing was pretty good, though. By the time he reached the store, the woman had completed one set of the Academy uniform, and was just folding it neatly as he walked through the door.

She grinned cheerfully when she saw him. "Oh, you're back! I just finished the alterations! Here you go!"

"...thanks." He took the bundles of cloth and turned to leave. A hand shot out and stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going, kiddo?" He was about to reply, but she cut him off. "You need to change."

Toshiro furrowed his eyebrows and was about to answer again but the storekeeper cut him off once more. "Look, cutie-" he bristled. She continued anyway. "I don't know what district you grew up in, but things here aren't that different from the situation in Rukongai. The only difference is that some people here have the power to back up their foul mouths." She knelt down in front of him so that they were eye to eye. **(4) **"If you wear the uniform, you might fit in a little better."

Toshiro wanted to retort, but refrained from doing so when he saw the genuine concern in her eyes. "Alright," He grumbled and walked into the other room to change again.

When he came out this time, she didn't bother to hold back her giggles. "Oh, you're so _cute_!" She clapped her hands together and grinned. "That's the smallest uniform I've ever made! You must really be something special if you're entering the Academy this early!" She hugged him to her chest and ignored his struggles.

Eventually, he managed to escape her clutches and slipped quietly out of the store.

Toshiro left the shop contemplatively. It wasn't strange to imagine that people would discriminate against him. Having grown up in Rukongai, it had become a norm for him to be treated badly because of his hair, his eyes, even his height. And yet, there was a part of him that longed for sanctity from the cruelty he faced on a daily basis. A part of him that believed that Shinigami would be more understanding, more tolerant towards someone who was like them; odd amongst them was considered normal. But the shopkeeper's words rang true. The Shinigami were just normal souls with more power. Even amongst the freaks, he was the odd one out.

Toshiro sighed. It didn't matter, he was used to it, it didn't affect him any more, sort of. And hopefully some Shinigami would be like the crazy lady who had dragged him there, Matsumoto, or maybe even Hinamori... Hinamori. That was something he didn't want to think about. Not until he had to. What would she say when she saw him in the Academy? Would she hate him, for leaving Granny and joining her? Would she believe him if he said it was involuntary; that he had no choice? Would GRANNY hate him?

He didn't think he would be able to stand it. Granny was his most important person, aside from Momo **(5)**. She had been torn apart when Momo had left. She hadn't shown it, and Momo hadn't noticed, but it had been glaringly obvious to him. The hurt and loneliness in her eyes was something he had vowed never to cause, and it was tearing him apart to have to leave. But he didn't have a choice. It was sacrifice he had to make. A sacrifice he had to make for her. But he still didn't want to.

Reluctantly, still adorned in the Spiritual Arts Academy uniform, and true to his predictions, getting far too many second glances for his comfort, he set off for the gates of Seireitei.

Or so he thought.

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

Whoever had designed Seireitei really had a sick sense of humour.

It appeared that the idea of making it difficult for people to move around so that they would get lost was extremely appealing to them. And it was starting to irritate Toshiro.

A lot.

He had been wandering in circles for a very _long_ time. Far too long, in his opinion. But the stupid gates didn't seem to be getting any closer. In fact, he was pretty sure he might have been looking at the wrong thing the whole time...

Kami-sama hated him.

_Elsewhere..._

Gin approached the other ever-smiling captain's office with his trademark sly grin. The door slid open just as he lifted his hand and a dark figure stumbled back in shock.

"Oh, I-Ichimaru-taicho! I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going!" Gin smirked inwardly. No matter what anyone else might say, he was fully aware that his smile was creepy and rather enjoyed using it to intimidate people. Shinigami were surprisingly easily terrified, considering they generally battled monsters on a weekly basis. Then again, who was he to judge?

The man hurried past him after bending almost double as a show of respect to the captain, or fear maybe, to Gin it was the same thing. The man waiting inside the darkened office chuckled and beckoned him inside.

"He remin's meh o' Izuru, ne, Aizen-han?" **(6)**

"He is a nervous one. But his information is reliable, and he is rather easily manipulated. Did you spy on the child like I asked you to?"

"Ya, I did. Th' kid's pretteh interestin', tai~cho. **(7)** Reminds meh of meh when I was tha' age."

"And he is as prodigious as my... informant claims?"

"He's a smar' one, an' feisty too. Wi'h th' righ' trainin', he can make it ter Lieutenant level fas'."

"Gin, I told you specifically not to approach him. It's too early in the game yet, I need to keep him under supervision before I know what I should do with him."

"Sorreh, taicho, bu' I couldn' resist. Th' kid's sharp, he coul' be a big help la'er."

"If he performs satisfactorily, I will consider it. Though I still doubt his power, he will have to prove himself to me. In the meantime, we will have to move ahead with the original plan. Tell Tousen to check on our little project in the 12th Division, it should be ready soon."

_Back to Toshiro... _

It wasn't just crazily-built, it was hot as well.

It was never this warm in Rukongai. Or perhaps it was the uniform rather than the normal thin yukata. Either way, Toshiro was hot. And Toshiro didn't _like_ hot weather. The lack of direction was also kind of annoying him. If he didn't meet someone soon...

_Thump_

Well, _someone_ hated him. It was the second time today he had face-planted into someone's chest, third if you counted the crazy lady from the shop. He stood, grumbling, ignoring the hand that was extended to help him up.

Manners dictated he apologize for not looking where he was going. Temper, on the other hand, reigned supreme that day, so he settled for an annoyed, "sorry."

The person he had bumped into laughed, and Toshiro's head jerked upwards at the somewhat familiar chuckle.

"Tachibana-sensei? What are you doing here?"

Incredulous, Toshiro craned his neck to look at his teacher-to-be. It was unmistakable. It was definitely Tachibana-sensei, but hadn't he walked off in the direction of the Division Barracks?

"Sensei, what are you doing here? Weren't you going to see your friend?"

Tachibana smiled down at him. "I finished my business already, I'm just heading back to the school now. Are you all done?" He ruffled Toshiro's hair, ignoring the grunt of displeasure he got back.

"Well," Toshiro looked away from the older man. _He's sure to think I'm an idiot if I tell him, but I need to find the gate so I can see Granny..._

"I wasn't... able to find the gate, I just went to get my uniform." Had Toshiro not avoided the older man's eyes, he would have noticed a strange mixture of pity and amusement gleaming in his pupils.

He heard a deep chuckle. "Oh, is that all? Well then, it's rather late; you should get going. That gate is in the opposite direction; this is the part of Seireitei where all the Division Barracks are. You have to walk back in that direction," he pointed behind Toshiro, in the direction he JUST came from, "until you reach the wall of Seki-seki, then you should see the gate. That's the only way to get out of Seireitei, unless you count the other gates, but they lead to other places which you... Shouldn't go to."

Toshiro was curious, but he decided that was something to be explored... later. First, he had to go see Granny. She was bound to be frantic by now; she should definitely have noticed his disappearance. It wasn't abnormal for him to disappear occasionally to get away from the bullies and the adults who scorned him, but normally he was home by nighttime, she wasn't used to him not being there, and she would be terribly worried if she woke up and he wasn't there...

"...listening, kid? Kid!"

Toshiro jerked back slightly and blinked when he noticed Tachibana right in his face. Tachibana sighed.

"You should get going kid," he said, placing a hand on top of the snowy-white locks and rather cheerfully ignoring the growled response, "the sun will set soon and you need to be back at the Academy by nightfall. From what I've heard, they're introducing you to your classmates tomorrow."

Toshiro ducked under the hand that was weighing his head down. "... Thanks, sensei." It was a grudging reply at best, but it would have to do.

"No problem, kid." His eyebrow twitched. One would think that a teacher at the Spiritual Arts Academy would be more adept at reading body language by now. Apparently not.

"Anyway, I have to go; the instructors are supposed to be in a meeting pretty soon and Takahashi-san will have my head if I'm not there on time again." Toshiro nodded then blinked in surprise as the man in front him disappeared.

"... Why is _everyone_ doing that to me today?" He sighed. Never mind, but he had to learn how to do that, and fast, or before he knew it, even people like the crazy lady or Momo would be leaving him in the dust!

Speaking of Momo...

He had better get going. The sun was setting soon and the gate wasn't getting any closer.

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

The sun was pretty close to the horizon by the time he reached the gate. And it was there that he faced yet another problem.

How the hell was he supposed to get the damn gate to open? **(8)**

He could see the ridges in the Seki-seki stone where the giant slab met the rest of the wall, but he was nowhere near strong enough to open it on his own, and even if he was, he had no idea how to even go about doing something like that. Where was Jidanbou when you needed him?

On the other side of the wall, of course.

Typical.

This was ridiculous. How did the Shinigami ever get anything done like this? Of course, most of them could probably walk on air, or whatever it is that that Matsumoto woman had done to get over the wall. He sighed.

First he gets lost, and now this! Did Kami-sama hate him or what?

In his frustration he could feel something inside of him uncurling, not an unpleasant sensation, but a strange one nonetheless. It felt like he was relaxing for the first time that day. A cool breeze brushed past his face, the first one in a long time, and he welcomed the comfort it brought him. Then, to his surprise, the ground shifted.

At least, that was what it felt like. It rumbled slightly, so much so that Toshiro had trouble staying on his feet. Then, to his amazement, the huge slab of stone lifted on its own. Well, that's what he thought until he saw a hand with fingers about the same size as his body slide under the stone to get a grip.

He would have stood there staring if the giant's voice hadn't boomed out from behind the gate.

"Well, are you coming out or not? I can sense you there, little one."

Toshiro walked cautiously under the humongous slab of rock, half relieved to have finally left Seireitei, and half afraid of what he knew would happen to him if Jidanbou that the rock slip from his fingers.

"What do you mean you sensed me, Jidanbou?" What, exactly, had Jidanbou sensed?

"Your reiatsu, little one. It spiked suddenly, so I knew you were there." The gentle giant smiled at Toshiro. "That's how all Shinigami call me to open the gate, since I'm always outside guarding against intruders."

Jidanbou suddenly noticed the uniform Toshiro was wearing. "Oh, they let you into the Academy then, little one! I told you you could! Maybe you'll see Momo again." Toshiro unwillingly let a small smile make its way onto his face. He had missed Jidanbou, even if he had only been in Seireitei for a little while, it felt as though so much had changed.

Then the large man sobered. "Are you back to see your granny, little one?"

Toshiro's smile left his face as quickly as it had appeared. The giant was more perceptive than people gave him credit for, and he and Toshiro had been friends for quite some time. The older soul could read him like few others could, even if they hadn't been spending very much time together.

"Yes. Jidanbou, what if..." He cut himself off. Even if they were close, Toshiro wasn't going to voice his thoughts for anyone to hear. But it seemed he didn't need to.

"Little one," Jidanbou crouched down to get closer to him; not that it worked, now Jidanbou just looked like a house as opposed to the normal tower. "Your granny is a really nice woman, and she will understand that you are doing this because you want to, not because you need to." He reached out a humongous hand to Toshiro, who smiled up at the huge man and let him use a finger to pat the top of his head. Only Jidanbou, Granny and Momo were allowed to do that.

"I... should go, Jidanbou, I've been gone lone enough."

Jidanbou showed him a toothy grin and nodded.

Toshiro smiled at him and walked off. **(9)**

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

It was nearing nighttime, which meant that the children would be soon returning to their homes from their afternoon play sessions with their friends, adults would be walking back to their houses to greet their spouses after a day of work, and generally many people would be out and walking. Many people who used to scorn him.

Of course, it's not like he didn't expect it. News of his disappearance would have spread around the village just as quickly as any other rumour would, or maybe even faster: a true attribute to how glad the village would be to be rid of their 'jinx'. The same 'jinx' who had just returned after an entire day of absence, dressed in the very uniform of the academy that taught souls to become one of the most despised type of warriors ever to have walked the face of the earth.

To most of the villagers, of course.

Few people thought otherwise, and those that did usually didn't care about the affairs of other. Most normally went on to become Shinigami themselves. The rest of the villagers simply disliked the Shinigami.

Things were very different from the generation of villagers that had supposedly met the Heavenly Guardian. Back then, Shinigami, or anyone with similar powers, were people to be revered, looked up to. After the wars took place, his granny told him, everything changed.

People became cynical and expected too much of the Shinigami, according to his granny, they thought that they were gods, which in a sense they were, but even gods sometimes couldn't save everyone. (10 READ THIS ONE IT'S IMPORTANT)

Once Hollows started attacking innocent souls that weren't able to protect themselves, and Shinigami stopped being as omniscient as before, deaths naturally took place and Shinigami, almost as naturally, were blamed for it. The sole exception seemed to be Jidanbou, in that he was their protector who slew any Hollows that came and guarded the gate that separated them from the Shinigami, although even that respect appeared rather grudging.

Granny was one of the few who didn't believe ill of Shinigami. She accepted that they had jobs to do, that they couldn't be everywhere at once. Granny always was able to see past initial impressions, the same way she had done with Toshiro.

Honestly, Toshiro wished he could say the same for the rest of the villagers. Most of them had the fortune to be born in the wealthiest district of Rukongai, and those who hadn't had made their way there by sheer will and force. One would expect that they would be more open-minded, more civil, than some of the savages who lived in the lower districts, but if there was one thing Toshiro had learnt in his short life, it was that those who had it good could be just as awful as the less fortunate, if not more so. Walking through his old home, his perspective changed so drastically in a few hours, no matter how short those hours were and how little he had done, Toshiro couldn't help but notice how much sharper and more painful their words appeared to be.

"_Look, it's _him_."_

"_He had the guts to show his face here again?"_

"_Is that an _Academy_ uniform?"_

"_I _knew_ he was a freak. At least he'll be gone for good now."_

"_Maybe Granny'll finally come to her senses after this."_

He tried not to let the comments get to him, holding his head high as he walked through the streets, ignoring the wide berth everyone gave him. That last one cut deep though. That was what he was most afraid of, what he wouldn't be able to handle. He knew he couldn't keep the truth from her anymore; he had to tell her about what he did to her each night with his reiatsu, and he wasn't naïve enough to believe that nothing in their relationship would change once he became a Shinigami.

He had seem that look in her eyes when Momo had left, and he never wanted to see it again.

His thoughts were interrupted as he just barely avoided tripping over the foot that was stretched out in front of him, trying to make him land flat on his face. He sighed before turning to find the culprit, because, he had to face it, there were only so many people who would touch him.

It was Naoki, the only kid not afraid of him enough to rile the others up to the point where they would all gang up on him. He was the kid who was responsible for the bruises that Toshiro hid carefully under his yukata from Momo and Granny, the occasional scratches he had to wash off in the river before returning home. He was the kid who was responsible for much of the misery Toshiro had to face each day.

But not that day, he didn't have time to waste on anyone's prejudice.

Naoki opened his mouth to say something, something scathing no doubt, but Toshiro brushed past him without a word. He wanted, _needed_, to see his granny, and he was not going to let a bully stand in his way.

With that in mind, Toshiro carefully released some of his reiatsu.

Not enough that it could hurt anyone, of course. Just enough to scare them. Toshiro had noticed that releasing reiatsu felt like opening a tap, almost. He had to find the trigger and let it flow gently. But this time he put a lid on it, so that only a little bit leaked through.

It was enough. The hand that had reached for his shoulder to pull him back retracted, and people seemed to give him an even wider berth than before. Not that it mattered anyway, he really didn't care anymore.

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

Junrinan did have a main area, but if one travelled along the same path that the walls of Seki-seki took for a short while, one would reach the outer district of Junrinan, where Granny lived with Toshiro and Momo. Granny had told him that they lived there because she enjoyed the quiet. The villagers, the other children in particular, had told him it was because no one in the village wanted _him_ around.

Toshiro did feel guilty. Granny had sacrificed so much for him, and the way he repaid her was by leaving to join the Academy at the first chance he got. Granted, it wasn't his choice, but still...

The betrayal he had felt when Momo had left was monumental, what would Granny have felt since she knew her longer than he had? And how would Granny feel now that both her 'grandchildren' were leaving her to be Shinigami?

She was bound to be disappointed, or upset at the very least. And if there was one thing that Toshiro couldn't bear to do, it was to upset Granny.

He had reached their little cottage. It was just a small house, barely a cottage really, nestled near a small forest with the river flowing by. Some might describe it as picturesque, and it was, to a certain extent, but at the moment Toshiro was dreading setting foot inside it almost as much as he was looking forward to it.

The sun was just sinking below the horizon, and dark shadows had begun to appear all around.

Toshiro called out into the house and a shaky voice answered him.

He noted with guilt that it seemed frailer than normal.

Toshiro slipped off his tabi and stepped into the house where floorboards creaked under his feet and light was hard to find. He quietly padded his way to the largest room, where he knew she would be waiting.

He stepped into the room and immediately notice a small, hunched-over figure sitting in the corner of the roomfacing the window. She turned around as she heard him enter.

"Obaa-san..."

**Author's Note:**

**(1) I can imagine Gin actually doing this. I dunno if it's just my opinion, but to me this is why he calls Toshiro "Chibi-taicho". Before he was a taicho, it was probably just Chibi.**

**(2) There's a reason this is so abrupt; it comes in later. That, and I didn't have much time.**

**(3) Hehe.**

**(4) Yes, he IS that short.**

**(5) Anyone notice the deliberate switch between Hinamori and Momo?**

**(6) The dialect Gin speaks, not his accent, causes him to use –han rather than –san. I think it's the dialect used in Osaka, but I'm not sure.**

**(7) Gin used to be a Lieutenant, and his taicho was Aizen. He still calls Aizen that, sometimes. **

**(8) This always puzzled me, I mean, I worked out my own solution for it, but I wonder how the heck they do it in the actual anime...**

**(9) DON'T KILL ME! I didn't know what to do there...**

**(10) I am not mocking God, nor to I intend to offend anyone who believes in Him or in any other gods, for that matter. This story, as well as this author, intends to remain fully respectful of religion, culture, race and any other labels that can be put on people. I, personally, believe in God, but that is my choice. I am not going to bring up religion; I think it's too controversial for fanfiction. I am merely making a reference to the fact that Shinigami are referred to as death gods, and nothing else. I hope I didn't offend anyone, and if it really irks you, you can PM me, or tell me in a review, and I will remove it. Again, I don't mean to offend anyone.**

**Okay, so first things first. Reviews.**

**You all know that I respond to anonymous reviews here, so I'll get to that soon. But first I would just like to say, well, I'm sorry, but I will only respond to the most recent review per person, because it's very hard for me to track who reviewed where and when, and stuff, so I'll just respond to those who reviewed chapter 4 and the teaser, and if you want me to respond to your earlier review or answer a question, PM me or leave another review! XD sorry, but in between writing and studying, I barely have time to respond to PMs, as some of you can attest to, for which I am also very sorry...**

**Okay, here goes. Anonymous Review Responses:**

**Rawr: Oh, really? Thanks for telling me that. Ugh, that sucks. Oh well. I mostly read the manga anyway. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you do again!**

**lili: Hi again! Thanks for reviewing; I appreciate your thoughts. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**person: I think it's you again right? Hehe XD Oh, well, they make it pretty strong in the anime, and it's especially obvious if you understand Japanese although they do make a note of it in the subs. Thanks for your review!**

**I shall do my best to respond to the reviews quickly. In fact, I'll probably do it right after this, which means that you may get a PM before you even read this author's note. Lol. MAY. **

**I will try my best to get the next chapter up soon, I know I've said this before, so some of you may not believe me, but trust me when I say that being in the debate team, plus schoolwork, revision, squash competitions, my band competition, fanfiction, exams, and projects galore is not easy. (plus I'm sick right now... -_-") I am trying though, and I recently have designated my English, Lit and Math classes as my writing periods, seeing as how both my teachers are terrible (yes, BOTH, English teacher = Lit teacher). Yes, I know. But don't judge me 'til you've met them. Then you'll get what I mean. Give me about a week? Is that okay? I should have time to write the next chapter tomorrow and the day after so... yeah. :P**

**Peace! :D**

**T.A.G.A. 3**


	7. Family and Friendship (Or Lack Thereof)

ICE DRAGON CHRONICLES  
>By: The Awesome God Apollo<p>

Disclaimer: I would NEVER have killed off Byakuya. Even if he didn't really die. And Toshiro, should I be so fortunate as to own Bleach, would have a lot more lines. A lot. Like, he didn't even talk in the "Revealing of the Zero Division"! What. The. Heck.

Also, Santa didn't leave me Bleach for Christmas (Bleach with a capital 'B', I have bleach) so I refuse to believe in him anymore. But I still believe in Jack Frost, which makes things confusing (ROTG reference XD). But go ahead and consider this your Christmas present from me :)

I'm dedicating this to two lovely people whom I've come to know quite well through a shared love for fanfiction, SaturnXK and Winter Lover in the Snow. SaturnXK, thank you so much, you have no idea how much I appreciate your wonderful reviews. And Winter Lover in the Snow, you are super awesome! This is my way of thanking you both and I hope you like the chapter!

As for why this isn't up on the 1st of December like I told a lot of you, our flight was delayed quite a bit so we got back a day later than expected. And I being the idiot that I am forgot that my beta lives pretty far away and in a completely different timezone. Thanks, IPH! :) Also, Christmas is around the corner and since my family always throws a huge bash before Christmas Day, I've been pretty busy. :-/

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you have a wonderful time with your friends and family! And happy belated birthday to the Shiro-chans! ;)

20 pages of fanfiction in one chapter... I hope you guys appreciate it, even if it's late! :) (8888 words lol)

Chapter 6 – Family and Friendship (Or Lack Thereof)

Suzuki Ayame **(1)**was an old woman.

Everyone in the village called her Granny, because there was not one person older than her to tell them what her real name was, and she enjoyed being a little mysterious. Of course, being everyone's surrogate grandmother came with a lot of responsibility. Many people used to show up at her doorstep, burdened with problems and worries, and more often than not, they would leave with less on their shoulders (metaphorically, of course), and more in their stomachs.

That is, of course, until little Toshiro appeared.

Before he came along, she had taken in sweet little Momo and had looked after her for quite some time, seen her grow up in the village along with some of the other children she was fond of. Everyone loved Momo; she was kind, cute, and normal. Everyone always loved normal.

Her perspective changed when the new addition to their little family appeared.

He had been a little baby when she found him, not bundled up enough to withstand the cold, lying shivering beside the swift river. She had panicked, worrying that he would fall in, or later, catch a death of cold. Because he was soaked, for some strange reason. The water was cold, colder than the river, almost like melted ice.

He was surprisingly small, even for such a young child, but the strangest thing became apparent after she removed the cocoon of blankets. The child was dressed in tattered clothes, but his hair and eyes were unusual to say the least.

Rumour had it in Soul Society that one's appearance reflected one's spirit, their inner self, so to speak. The saying "the eyes are the windows to the soul" was fairly accurate. People believed that those who possessed beautiful eyes were blessed by the gods. But there was a flipside to the tale. Legend spoke of a spirit, a white spirit, that appeared in times of great chaos and disaster. Death and destruction would follow the spirit wherever it appeared, and the people refused to give it a name, fearing that naming such an entity would grant the spirit more power, and so merely referred to it as the 'jinx'. The jinx usually had one striking and consistent appearance, its teal eyes.

When the baby opened its eyes, Ayame knew there would be trouble.

Because looking back at her were shockingly clear and sharp teal orbs.

She was ashamed to admit that she had been fearful at first, because she had lived through a war and had heard whispers of the spirit, of its power and the great evil that would come to pass with its presence. But the lapse in her staunch disbelief of myths and legends was momentary. She couldn't leave the child on its own.

Momo befriended him the second she brought him home, her childish naïveté and kind nature that had led her to be beloved by many allowing her to easily show her affection for the tiny child in her adopted grandmother's arms. Unfortunately, the rest of the village, particularly the adults, were jaded enough to be completely unwelcoming of the poor nameless baby.

It snowed in Soul Society for the first time in her memory that day. White blanketed the pavements and huts, lining windowsills, obscuring the trees and the ground and freezing the wild river solid, taming the impossibly fierce roaring waves. She had, personally, enjoyed the peace and serenity, but the unprepared residents of Junrinan, with their thin blankets and futons, didn't share her opinion.

The child, still nameless, cried for the first time when she shut the doors and windows in an effort to keep the cold out. He only stopped bawling when she opened and window and carried him rather reluctantly to stand in the winter breeze that was blowing harshly. The wind seemed to die down when she did that, slowing to a gentle breeze that blew his fluttering locks haphazardly. Teal eyes turned to look at her, and she started when she realised that the snowy white spikes blended in perfectly with the winter wonderland outside her window. And the sharp, mesmerizing teal was exactly the colour of the frozen river.

She named him Hitsugaya Toshiro, "winter valley". **(2)**

Because of the persistent snow, her little hut, situated further away from the village than most, received fewer visitors than usual. The first to stop by once the snow had slowed down considerably was a little girl by the name of Aoi, who was particularly fond of her home-made sweets. She was enamoured with Toshiro instantly, mesmerized by his eyes and hair, and the next day when Ayame left her home to shop in the little village, whispers of her strange new charge had spread to the furthest corners of Junrinan.

Most people seemed positive that Toshiro was the embodiment of the jinx, that another period of disaster was upon them and that his arrival was to blame. Within days, more than 10 people had tried to convince her to leave him on his own and far away from their village, and over half of the adults had turned against the little boy she found by the river. The children mostly still came to her house to eat her sweets and play with Momo, but she would be lying if she said she hadn't heard parents whisper in their children's ears to stay away from her mostly secluded little hut.

She watched as he grew up alone, shunned or mocked by all but herself and Momo. It hurt her heart to see his eyes fill with sadness when the other children gave in to their parents' wishes and left him by himself. She knew that he was afraid of rejection from the only two people aside from Jidanbou who showed him kindness in spite of his strange appearance, so she made it a point to be there when he needed her, like after a particularly bad day or when Momo left for the Academy, although the latter had been just as much for herself as it had been for him. And she never mentioned his rapidly increasing reiatsu.

Ayame had always been fairly sensitive to reiryoku and reiatsu. She didn't have much herself, just slightly more than the average soul, but what little she could remember of her time in the Real World told her that she had been able to see spirits and Hollows faintly, and she had retained that small semblance of spiritual power when she crossed into Soul Society.

It had come as somewhat of a surprise when Momo was the first to be noticed by a Shinigami and invited to the Academy. Even though she was quite a bit older than Toshiro, his reiryoku had always been stronger, rawer, more powerful. Momo had never felt it. Spiritually aware though she was, her own reiryoku had been just enough to shield her from the freezing cold that settled in each night. And in the day-time, Toshiro's power was calmer, still there, burning bright under the cool exterior, but far less noticeable. She supposed that it was probably attributable to his need to always be in control of himself when he was awake, but, then again, she doubted he would have listened to any Shinigami that told him he should enter Seireitei.

Toshiro's fierce loyalty was what compelled him to stay with her, and she knew he abhorred the idea of leaving anyone behind just as much as he disliked the idea of being left behind himself. So she kept quiet, and surreptitiously bought thicker blankets.

She had panicked initially when she had woken up to troublingly warm room. Frantic, she hurried to town for the first time in months to try and discover where Toshiro had disappeared to, but the general response, much to her displeasure, was rather unhelpful. Something along the lines of "Wherever he is, let him stay there!" Until she ran into the man who ran the village's only sweet shop. He, like all the others, was happy to see her until she told him who she was looking for. The man was reluctant to say anything, sticking to the belief that even speaking of the 'jinx' brought bad luck, but eventually his respect for her compelled him to let her know about the "strange Shinigami who just showed up outta nowhere and started raggin' on me!" Much to his confusion, she breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the word 'Shinigami' and beat a retreat to her home soon after, leaving a rather perplexed soul behind.

She returned to her regular position in the house, cross-legged on the floor in the small room adjacent to hers, facing the door, and waited patiently. If she knew Toshiro, he would be wracked with guilt for leaving her. He would visit eventually, and she would be waiting if he needed her.

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It was nearing dusk when Ayame felt him nearby.

She sensed him rather than saw him, the telltale mild drop in temperature tipping her off as to his approach. She could feel him lingering on the doorstep, as though debating whether he should go in. She made no move to invite him in, Toshiro was the type of person who did everything on his own time, and she wouldn't begrudge him a few moments to gather his thoughts.

The door slowly slid open and Ayame faced it with a slight sting of dread. No matter how much he might want to stay, no matter how much she might want him to stay, she knew that they had little choice in the matter. More than likely, he was already enrolled in the Academy overnight, and regardless, it would probably be better for them to be apart for a while. She could feel the cold emanating from him nipping at her thin clothes, and however much she may have loved him, the child needed to learn how to control his reiryoku, for his own sake as well as everyone else's.

Eventually he called out, she answered, and the door slowly slid open.

Toshiro's POV

It wasn't fear that his grandmother would be angry at him for abandoning her that kept Toshiro waiting outside the little house.

Standing outside the door for minutes that stretched on far too long told him that even if she was angry, and that was a very big if, she would forgive him almost instantly. By all accounts, his grandmother was a generous woman, and she was kind-hearted enough not to judge him and wise enough to know that leaving her alone was never his intention. If there was any person who would understand his situation and his feelings, it was her. No, it was something else, something he couldn't explain, that made him hesitant, reluctant to see her when he had been so eager earlier.

He was afraid that she would agree with his decision.

Because it was as simple as that. If he entered the house now and she told him he should go to the Academy, there was a betrayal there akin to the one he felt when Hinamori left. He knew his grandmother just wanted what was best for him, even against her own wishes, but a part of him wanted her to insist he stay, to tell him that joining the Academy and leaving his old life behind was a terrible idea. But he knew something had changed.

Steeling his nerves, he called out, and the shakiness and frailty of the voice that answered him was worrying. When had she begun to sound like that?

He shook himself and slid the door open. He had to face it, so he might as well get it over with.

The small figure of his grandmother, though still larger than his, was hunched into a sitting position on a cushion by the window of the room where they used to eat together. She smiled her gentle smile at him and he felt most of his worries melt away. She was the only person who could do that to him, and he couldn't bear the thought of her not wanting him around.

"You came back late today, Toshiro."

He could sense the question in her statement, but at the same time, seeing his uniform, he knew that she had probably guessed.

A deep breath, and he began to explain.

Words just poured out of his mouth, and his story was pieced together, of captains and giants and humongous gates and… Before he knew it he got to the end of everything, the last bit of information he dreaded giving her the most.

"I took the entrance exam, obaa-chan, and I…"

"You passed, didn't you?" He bowed his head. Whether it was shame or something else lingering in his heart, he didn't know, but he couldn't look her in the eyes.

"Toshiro, I'm not angry, and I know that you didn't want to leave. And I don't want you to leave either."

He snapped back up, surprised at her words. "I have looked after you since you were a little baby, Toshiro, and I would never want you to leave. Just like I didn't want Momo to leave. But you've outgrown your old obaa-chan already. I can't give you what you need now, and it's time you went on to bigger and better things." Her voice took a rueful tone as she continued, cutting through the thick silence. "You've always been special, Toshiro, and you know it too. You can do so much in Seireitei that you can't do here. But Momo and I will always be your family. And if being a Shinigami is too much, remember that you have a home to come back to."

Teal eyes filled with tears as his grandmother finished. For the first time since Momo left, he let go of his emotions. The fear of failure, of loneliness, of what lay in his now uncertain future. And through all that, he could feel his grandmother stroke his hair like she used to do when he was younger, hurt after all the other kids ran away and didn't want to play with him, anchoring him to reality as the tumult of emotions nearly swept him away.

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By the time they were done, the sun had nearly set beyond the horizon, and despite all the food he had consumed, Toshiro felt considerably lighter. He had needed someone to talk to, he realised. And his grandmother was someone who could make him feel better just by being there. He still didn't know where he was going, or what would happen after the Academy, but he would deal with them as they came. At the moment, he was just going to enjoy having someone in his corner for once.

It was with great reluctance that he finally parted with his grandmother. They had just enjoyed each other's company for the last hour or so, and he would be lying if he said it wasn't nice. He was a quiet person by nature, and while most would think someone talkative would complement his personality quite well, Toshiro enjoyed the rare moments of peace he could only get with her.

Unfortunately for him, he knew he needed to get back to the Academy before it got too dark, or there might be a repeat of the situation yesterday, and a repeated offence the day before his official start at the Academy probably wouldn't look too good on his report. Every step he took towards the door and away from his grandmother made his heart feel heavier, and when he turned around in the doorway to see her – just for one last goodbye- he discovered to his embarrassment that his eyes were suspiciously moist.

She seemed to sense his mood, and offered him a watery smile.

"Don't forget me, Toshiro. Come visit when you can, and bring Momo with you. I'll be here."

"I won't, obaa-chan."

He turned around to leave through the doorway. "And Shiro," he stopped dead in his tracks, "no matter what, make me proud."

He could hear the rueful smile in her tone.

"I will." He was mortified when his voice cracked slightly on the last word.

Toshiro walked away from the secluded little house he had called home from the beginning. He didn't look back, too busy thinking.

It was the only time she ever called him 'Shiro'.

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It was very nearly dark when he reached the gate into Seireitei. Jidanbou was standing by the gate, his towering form dwarfing all the houses of the nearby village. Toshiro had made it through without incident, since most of the villagers tended to retreat into their houses at night, and those who were out and about only spared him sidelong glances on their way home.

Jidanbou stared at him. "Leaving already, Shiro-chan? You just arrived!"

Toshiro smiled at the gentle giant. His perspective was refreshingly simple; everything was black and white in Jidanbou's world. "I can't, Jidanbou, I need to get back to the Academy before it closes. My classes start tomorrow."

"Alright, Shiro-chan." He couldn't help but notice that the humongous man looked saddened. "You should go now then."

A huge hand lifted the slab of rock separating Junrinan and Seireitei and Toshiro walked through under it. Just before the rock dropped he heard a booming voice from the other side of the wall. "Don't forget to visit once you've become a Shinigami, Shiro-chan!"

Toshiro rolled his eyes. That man never listened to him.

How many times did he have to say he didn't like being called Shiro-chan before someone actually listened to him?

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Finding his way back to the Academy from the wall was less trouble than leaving, since he could remember the way he had taken. He had been too busy thinking when the mad woman had brought him to the Academy to recall where they had gone, so it was just as well.

The gigantic iron gates looked almost exactly the same as the last time he saw them from the outside, only this time, they were open. Probably for the teachers or students who were allowed to leave the Academy's campus. Luckily for him, the guard let him by without any questions, although Toshiro did feel his lingering stare on his back. Word probably spread pretty fast within the Academy, and he imagined all the teachers knew about him by now. And there was probably only one person who was as young as him attending the Academy, never mind the white hair and teal eyes.

The buildings of the Academy weren't as deserted as they were earlier, so he supposed classes must have let out for the day. Dinner was probably over, and most of the students he could see had gathered together in groups with their friends all over the campus. Those nearest to him seemed to be seniors in the Academy, but they eyed him with just as much curiosity as the more junior students **(3)**.

He rolled his eyes. One would think they would try to hide their blatant staring, but no. They were just lucky there were too many of them for him to death-glare each one.

They were easy to ignore though. Growing up the way he did, he had developed a special knack for blocking out certain things.

It wasn't long before he found his way to the building where all the students lived, and to his (concealed) dismay, there were more students there. The only consolation was that he wasn't bumbling around like an idiot trying to find his way since her sort of remembered where everything was. Still, almost every person he passed stared at him like an animal in a zoo, and he caught snippets of conversation that tended to be along the lines of "What is a kid doing here?"

It irritated him, the way they looked down on him, couldn't see past first impressions. He supposed he'd have to prove them wrong. But it would take time, time he didn't have. The dragon was had something to tell him, and he had a feeling that it wouldn't wait forever. Sooner or later, something, someone, had to give in. And it probably wouldn't be the dragon.

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Toshiro dumped the small bag of clothes he had brought from home in the corner near the cupboard. He could keep them later. Wanting to find someone to help him sort out his classes for the next day, he turned around to leave, but a stack of books on his table caught his eye. He leafed through a few that caught his eye but their strange titles intrigued him. _Introduction to Zanpakuto, Forlorn Beginnings: The History of Soul Society, Modern Society – The World of the Living Exposed_, and the list went on.

On top of the books was a schedule of classes. Apparently it was his, since it was for a first-year, and according to it, he had History of Soul Society, Spiritual Power, Hollows and Souls and The World of the Living that day.

He was slightly perplexed though; those books hadn't made it into his room on their own and he didn't know anyone in the Academy who was likely to help him that actually _knew _he was there.

There was a note that lay beside the schedule, and suddenly everything made more sense.

_Hitsugaya-kun_

His eyebrows twitched, but he ignored the greeting in favour of finishing the note.

_I noticed that you hadn't returned from whatever it is that you were doing in Rukongai, so I had a copy of the first year schedule printed for you so that you'll know where to go tomorrow. The books are free, it seems someone high up has taken a special interest in you (I was ordered to give those to you with no charge). The classroom block is in the opposite direction from the dining hall if you leave from your dorm. Also, the headmaster wanted me to tell you that you'll get a bunch of other uniforms. They'll be delivered to your room personally; apparently you made quite an impression in the store. You're welcome!_

_Tachibana-sensei :)_

The man had signed the note with an emoticon that made Toshiro's eyebrows rise an inch. Not for the first time, he wondered what kind of people he had teaching him. Especially considering that they were teaching him how to survive in a fight against bloodthirsty, soul-sucking monsters that had no problem killing whatever got in their way.

At least, that's how Hinamori had described them in one of her rare visits to Junrinan. It hadn't been the best conversation they'd had over watermelons.

Nevertheless, the man had helped him, so Toshiro supposed he should be grateful.

...

Though it would probably be a lot easier to be nice to him if he acted like less of an idiot.

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As much as it pained him, he knew he needed to read through the stack of books on his bed.

He was already going to be an outcast. He was short, young, had a strange appearance, and showed up at the Academy more than halfway through the academic year. His classmates were either going to hate him, or despise him. And seeing as he also had a rather cold personality, it was more than likely the latter. Especially if the people here were anything like those in Rukongai.

There was absolutely no way he would show his face at class the next day if he didn't know just as much as the rest of them.

So he stayed up, reading by the dim light of the lamp, flipping through each and every book Tachibana-sensei had left for him. More often than not, he would come across terms he didn't know in one book, and have to look it up in another, before promptly getting too absorbed in that book to finish the first. It carried on like that for a while, but eventually, even with jumping between topics, he managed to read more than half of each book.

He was just lucky that his granny had taught him to read when he was little. And that he had an eidetic memory. **(4)**

She had called him a genius; the rest had called him a freak. To him, it was just another thing to add to an ever-growing list.

Regardless of how much it irked or shocked others, he was kind of grateful for the instant recall. Toshiro shut the book that lay in his lap with a sigh. He just had one more to go, but maybe just a little nap first...

His eyes drifted shut and he slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

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The wind was softer than before.

It was still roaring, still strong enough to nearly sweep him off his feet, but it had lessened, like it was gentler, more welcoming. The entire world seemed to have slowed down somewhat, and with a slight jolt, he realised that he was close to the dragon, so close he could almost reach out and...

The dragon's howl cut off his thoughts. He could feel its booming voice, reverberating in the air, and the words were clearer than before, but every time he thought he finally understood what it was trying to say, the wind would swallow its words, sweep them away into the distance, and he was getting so _frustrated_-

He had to touch it, to get closer. There was suddenly this inexplicable urge to know, to finally understand, and he wouldn't stop until he achieved it, until he finally quieted the raging winds and blizzards. Until he heard the dragon's roar.

He struggled against the wind, pushing forward as he was buffeted about by the blustery gale. It felt like with every step he managed to take, he would be blown back another two, but he was getting nearer, the dragon was getting bigger, and excitement bubbled up in him.

Toshiro was so close, the dragon was _right _in front of him. Then suddenly the roaring stopped, the wind died completely, and the dragon centimeters from his fingertips shattered, leaving behind no trace of its presence.

He woke with a jolt.

Icy frost decorated the walls, blanketing them in thin tendrils of white and blue, and the floor nearly as much. He could faintly see his breath in front of him, and it suddenly dawned on him that he knew what was happening.

Zanpakuto. The word resonated in his mind; he knew it was important, but how had he not made the connection until then...?

An ice dragon for a zanpakuto. It was so obvious that Toshiro supposed he had known somewhere deep down after coming across that phrase in the book. It explained everything, what the dragon was doing in his mind, what he could do, and that inexplicable desperation to know what it wanted. The only thing it didn't explain, according to the book, was the most important.

Its name.

Toshiro supposed he would find it out for himself, but first... He glanced out of the frosted window, where a few faded rays of light had snaked into the room. The sun was rising. It was time for classes.

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Toshiro supposed he should be grateful he had so much spiritual power to spare. Even if he needed to learn how to control it. But it still made his life so much more difficult. For one thing, he needed to _eat_.

Sighing, Toshiro gathered the books he would need for the day, according to his schedule, before staring at them in dismay. He had no bag...

He almost wanted to slap himself for forgetting to buy one, but he supposed it was only normal considering how much had happened in the span of two days. Annoyed, he reached over and grabbed one of the new uniforms he hadn't worn yet and wrapped the books up in it, tying the sleeves to create a makeshift sort of handle. It was crude, but it would have to do for the day.

He frowned and slid the door shut behind him. Now he needed to make his way to the dining hall. If he was lucky, he could get to eat and leave for class before most people woke up and avoid the staring and questions for the time being.

Naturally, Kami-sama had to screw with him.

The dining hall was mostly empty when he got there, save for the lady who was slowly filling up the trays laid out for the food on the largest table in the room - not traditionally Japanese, but he supposed in a school with this many people, exceptions had to be made. She turned in surprise when she heard someone enter the room and her eyes almost doubled in size when she noticed him.

"Oh, hello dear! You must be the new student everyone is talking about!" Right then he knew his time in the school was going to be difficult. If even the dining staff knew about him...

He bowed politely to her and she smiled, obviously not used to being shown so much respect.

"Yes, I'm Hitsugaya Toshiro, ma'am," he replied softly.

Despite the fairly blatant age difference, she reminded him of his grandmother. She was a great big woman, almost as large as the teacher who had found him with the crazy lady and the captain, but not nearly as tall. Brown eyes twinkled in a round face, and her kind smile made her seem younger despite the streaks of grey creeping into the pitch black of her hair.

"I'm Maruyama Fumiko. I'm the cook here, or at least that's what the students call me."

Toshiro looked around the empty hall before turning back the woman in front of him. "Do I come here for meals, Maruyama-san?"

Her smile faded slightly, and to his trepidation, she kneeled in front of him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I don't want to be the one to say this, but some of the kids in this school will give you a hard time for coming so late."

Toshiro looked at her. Obviously she was going somewhere with that, but he couldn't tell what she was going to say.

"The dining hall is one of the easiest places to do something and get away with it since no teachers usually eat here. My word doesn't count for much, and they won't listen to me," as she continued her eyes saddened, and Toshiro had the feeling that she had found that out first-hand. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I think you might need it. This might seem a little sudden, but trust me, I've seen this happen before, and it never turns out well. In your case, I think the headmaster might make an exception if he knew."

She glanced at the doors as he tilted his head in mild confusion.

"There's a back room, where the meals are cooked. The teachers go there to pick up food and bring it to the teachers' lounge. You can have your meals in there if you want to, or you need an escape from all the loudness." A wry sort of smile stretched her lips. "The entrance is outside this hall, near the doors you walked through earlier."

Toshiro had to admit that he was somewhat taken aback at the woman's willingness to help him, a stranger. It seemed slightly out of place when he thought about how he had been treated in Rukongai, but Murayama-san seemed different, the same way Granny and Momo weren't like the other villagers. So he nodded, and smiled hesitantly at her.

"Thank you, Murayama-san. I will think about your offer."

She grinned a slightly lopsided grin and clapped her hands, her mood turning a complete 180 degrees. "Well, let's get you some breakfast, before the rest of those rascals come in here!"

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He didn't have very much to eat, because he hadn't been very hungry. Just a small meal, it seemed, was enough to offset his need for energy for the time being. So he made his way to the classroom block, and found his class, or at least, he tried to.

He seemed to be getting lost in Seireitei too often, though, in his defence, Junrinan had been a fairly small district. And the blasted people or person who had designed the Academy hd no logic whatsoever. The room numbers weren't sorted according to what level they were on, and only some of them were in sequence. Then there were the doors with no numbers, just odd notations, like "DO NOT ENTER" or "BEWARE: DANGER". He avoided those like the plague, and the students he had bumped into in the course of his expedition apparently shared his sentiments. Of course, they travelled in big groups and mostly ignored his presence in their beeline toward the dining hall, so that probably didn't mean much.

The sun had long risen when he finally thought he found the correct room. Or, to be precise, Room 198 on the 7th floor next to Room 421. Taking a deep breath, he straightened his uniform, adjusted the makeshift book bag he had slung around his shoulder so it wouldn't look too ridiculous, and pushed the door open.

It creaked so loudly that he winced, momentarily dropping his nonchalant facade, before ignoring it and stepping into the room.

He hadn't been expecting the class to be so small. Only about 30 students filled the small room, seated side by side, and every single one of them was turned towards him.

The sensei in front of the class didn't seem to be particularly amused as she turned towards him. Her lips were pursed as she surveyed him silently. The rest of the people in the room were nowhere near as dignified. They stared at him, gaping silently, or not so silently in some cases, but he wasn't sure why. He had seen some of them the day before in the courtyard, gossiping about him, so surely they knew he was starting his classes...?

"Yes?" Her voice was just as curt and sharp as the rest of her. She was bony and thin, but not to the point where she looked frail. Dark brown hair pulled into a tight plait behind her head and wearing the standard Shinigami uniform far more appropriately than Matsumoto had, she fit his idea of the strict, stern teacher he had thought he would be getting when he joined the Academy.

"I'm Hitsugaya Toshiro, ma'am."

She glanced down at a list on her table, where Toshiro could vaguely see something outlined in red. Then she looked up at him again.

"You're the latecomer from Junrinan."

He nodded.

"This is the Advanced Class for first-years, Hitsugaya. I expect nothing but the best, and that includes punctuality. I will not make exceptions."

...Advanced Class?

Curse that man, he hadn't told him there were different classes.

"Yes, sensei."

She looked at him with an indiscernible emotion in her eyes, staring down at him before swiftly looking away and surveying the class before her, all of whom watched the scene before them with varying expressions of shock, annoyance and anger that the 'Rukongai trash' had made it into the advanced class.

"Get to your seat, Hitsugaya."

The words were spoken without a trace of malice, completely void of any emotion save a mild annoyance at the interruption of her teaching. Toshiro decided that he would show her respect, she was clearly not someone to mess with and she didn't seem to be prejudiced against him like he suspected most of his class was.

There were a few empty seats towards the back of the class, and he made his way there as quickly as possible after a quick bow to the teacher. He was somewhat fortunate in that his classmates were either too surprised or too cowed by the teacher to try anything in the classroom, but he did catch the hushed whispers behind his back as he moved.

"Unbelievable. I can't believe he's in the Advanced Class! He doesn't even look good enough to be in the Academy!"

"The standards must be dropping if this is the kind of trash we have to put up with even among the elite."

"Tanaka-sensei must have made a mistake, right?"

"Don't worry guys, the brat won't last a day. He'll run home crying to mommy that he couldn't do it, and we'll be rid of him for good."

Everyone, or at least the people near him, seemed to be equally malicious and outraged that he was in the Advanced Class, but it was the last comment that particularly irked him. He wouldn't give, _couldn't_give up, because of Granny.

He nearly stopped in front of the person who had made the last comment, a willowy man who looked nearly the same age as the teacher had, with thick glasses hiding green eyes and short jet black hair. But he had seconds thoughts after remembering the look the teacher had given him; something about her stare had an almost expectant feel and he knew she would be less than impressed if he made a scene. So he brushed past the man without sparing him a second glance, which only served to irritate him even more.

Toshiro sat down in the seat, sliding the book he had seen on everyone's tables out of the opening in his 'bag' and flipping the pages quietly. The teacher, Tanaka-sensei, apparently, had returned to the lecture she had been giving before the untimely interruption, and monotony enveloped the class again.

He couldn't understand why the others didn't seem to be interested, Tanaka-sensei seemed to know what she was talking about rather well, and the history of Seireitei and Shinigami was rather interesting, riddled with wars, battles and in general other things which weren't likely to put someone to sleep with ease. Students in front of him were gazing out of the large windows, or drawing in their books with brushes (_dammit, something _else_ he forgot to buy_), and it seemed like he was the only one paying proper attention.

"Watanabe."

More than half the class jumped in surprise. Really, the Advanced Class didn't seem to be that advanced. Or perhaps the other classes were far less complicated than he expected.

"I will not give any more warnings. Do _not_fall asleep in my class."

Looking in the direction of her glare, Toshiro noticed that the culprit, who had snapped upright and tried to surreptitiously wipe away his drool, was the same man from earlier. He ducked his head in slight embarrassment and mumbled an apology, only to jerk upwards and stare down a few of the students who had the audacity to snicker at his predicament.

Obviously those students didn't care much for Watanabe, since they continued laughing, only stopping when Tanaka-sensei's piercing gaze swept across the room. Her brown eyes locked with his for a moment and she gave him a miniscule but undeniable nod of approval when she noticed he was actually paying attention. The rest of the students didn't seem to notice their silent exchange. But Watanabe had proven himself to be an exception in the class, and he turned in his seat as quietly as he could, eyes narrowing when he noticed it had been Toshiro whom their sensei had actually acknowledged in a good way. He turned back to the board, however, clearly not wanting to make a scene as Tanaka-sensei sighed exasperatedly.

It was going to be a _long _day.

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Watanabe had tried to approach him after the class had ended, but Toshiro slipped away quietly in the crowd of much-taller students with ease. He wasn't running away _per se_, but he had already been late for one class, and he had a feeling he'd need to make a good impression with his teachers.

The rest of his classes passed quietly. He was stuck with the same group of people for every lecture or demonstration he attended, and he found himself growing bored after a while. The monotony of following his classmates around, trying to memorise the layout of the school, avoiding interactions with his classmates ("_What's up with the kid? He hasn't spoken a word since he got here..._") and sitting through multiple classes where the instructors all but read from the textbooks he had already memorised was taking its toll, and he had to forcibly stop his attention from wandering out the window, just like everyone else's had.

Spiritual Power was the only class that deviated from the norm he had fallen into, but that was perhaps because it was the main reason he had come to the Academy in the first pace. Much to his disappointment though, the instructor hadn't really touched on anything besides what was written in the book, and they were still going over how to tap _into_ one's spiritual power, so he doubted he would be learning anything useful from there for a while. More than likely he would have to do his own research later.

By some stroke of luck, or perhaps impeccable timing on his and Matsumoto's part, his first day was purely lectures and demonstrations by instructors, as with every fourth day of the week, meaning he would have his chance to attempt any practical activity before having to do it in front of the class. Having memorised the textbooks, he was already fairly far ahead of the rest of his peers, but he still needed to brush up on the topics they had covered in greater detail. So he decided he would head to the Academy library... if he could figure out where it was.

More than likely it was near the classroom block, but if the rest the school was just as crazily-designed as this part was, he would have a hard time finding anything unless he had been there before.

Classes had been let out for a fair amount of time, and he saw some of his classmates rush to greet their friends from other classes and begin to talk excitedly. Most of them threw him the occasional glance and some even stared, so it was no mystery what they were discussing. He made his way to the courtyard, figuring he could work things out from there, or, Kami forbid, ask someone if he had to, but in the end, he wasn't given much of a choice.

In an empty corridor just in front of him, Watanabe stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Beside him were two men, far bigger than both Watanabe and himself, flanking the older man and trying to sneer menacingly.

Toshiro sighed. Rolling his eyes, he turned to walk away and ignore the confrontation that he had felt coming, but one of the goons had lumbered forward and clumsily grabbed his sleeve, preventing him from leaving. He shook himself free quickly, but stood his ground nevertheless. They might have been larger than him, but he wasn't afraid, so he wouldn't run. Obviously Watanabe had something to say, so he might as well get it over with instead of playing a rather pointless game of cat and mouse.

Watanabe sneered at him, trying to look threatening. His eyes shone with malice behind his thick glasses, and Toshiro sighed again, wondering how long it would take to get rid of him.

"Hashiguchi, was it?"

"It's Hitsugaya." **(5)**

"Oh, the brat can talk. What else can you do?" His smug smile was infuriating.

"What's it to you?" His response was completely flat and uninterested, but he smirked inwardly when Watanabe fumed and turned a fascinating shade of puce.

Watanabe reached for his collar. The second he tried to dodge, Watanabe's other crony stepped in his way, and to his mortification, Watanabe wrapped his fists in the loose fabric around his neck and picked him up off the floor, so that his feet were just touching the ground. His makeshift 'bag' of books tumbled to the ground.

"Listen, _trash_, I'm a noble. Brats from Rukongai don't even deserve to worship the ground I walk on. _Especially_ not freaks like _you_." Teal eyes narrowed as the temperature around them dropped slightly. A pompous noble. Typical.

"I don't know how you made it into the Advanced Class, or how you tricked your way into the Academy, but you better watch your step, because trash like you doesn't belong _anywhere_. Do I make myself clear?"

The hands on his uniform tightened, and Watanabe's voice dropped to a harsh whisper. Toshiro might have been intimidated, but he had dealt with that kind of prejudice for most of his life, and the adults in Junrinan could be far worse. Besides, he seriously doubted Watanabe had the power to back up his threats, even with his mindless bodyguards backing him.

He opened his mouth to make a smart comment, but got cut off when a voice rang out behind him.

"What are you doing?"

Toshiro froze in shock.

Watanabe looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Ah, senpai, I was just-"

"Please put him down now. This isn't how you're supposed to treat other students from the Academy."

"Of course, senpai." Watanabe looked like he would rather swallow a frog, but he obeyed and slowly, reluctantly, put Toshiro back onto the ground. He glared at him again, but Toshiro took pleasure in the fact that Watanabe's arm was shaking with the effort of holding him in the air.

"Come on, let's go." He bowed respectfully to the person behind Toshiro before making himself scarce. Toshiro watched them leave with a smirk, but it slid off his face when he remembered the person who had made Watanabe let him go.

The voice, that familiar voice, spoke again. But this time, it had a different tone. Sadness, surprise... disappointment? "Shiro-chan, I didn't know you were a student here."

He gave her a wry, hesitant smile.

"Hello, Hinamori."  
><strong><br>A.N.:**

**(1) As far as I'm aware, Toshiro's grandmother's name has never been officially revealed in either the anime or manga. So I'll just make up my own. It's not very important anyway. But seeing as it's her POV, I thought I should grant her an identity.**

**(2) Some people may tell me that his name means "white winter", but I'm sticking with this because I dabble in Japanese, and I have a few friends who are fluent. According to them, Hitsugaya = "valley" and Toshiro = "winter" or "white", but the "white" only comes from the 'shiro' in his name.**

**(3) The reason I say 'more junior' is because the Academy accepts students based on spiritual power and prowess, and in my version, you move up as necessary, which is why you can skip years. This rarely happens, but I just wanted to clarify that because as you may have noticed, most of the students and people I've described in Toshiro's class are a lot older than him.**

**(4) Basically, an eidetic memory means you can remember everything with vivid detail (very vivid. When I remember something, it's almost like I'm reliving it.). That includes sight, sound, sensation... you get the idea. It's not fun. At all. I have never been able to read a book more than once without getting bored.**

**(5) OMG the first time he says it! Wait... is it the first time? I can't remember LOL.**

**My gosh, I am such a liar. I didn't get the chapter up the week after. I am SO sorry guys, words cannot express how guilty I feel right now. But the thing is, I'm sorry, but my family is a priority and recently some stuff has been going on, as well as the fact that I just finished some major exams in October and as I mentioned to some of you, have been on holiday in New Zealand with a severe lack of access to the internet here until the end of November. I am still writing though, and you may get a double update this week (we'll see how many of you review MUAHAHA! No, just kidding, but depending on the response I may hold off for a while until I add something or whatever, k?). I'm not making excuses, but I'm just setting the record straight.**

**Also, I just realized. In the 4th chapter, I wrote Coal Reefs instead of Coral Reefs. *facepalm* Which reminds me, remember I was talking about that competition? I came in 2nd nationally! Which I think is kind of an accomplishment considering I live in Singapore and the attitude here is, and I quote "die-die-must-win". I'm not even kidding. Some people spent thousands of dollars on coaches. Anyway, my story's being sent for international ranking and if I rank in the top 5, I can go for the international conference. So fingers crossed guys! :)**

**Quote of the chapter:**  
><strong>"I've always said, behind every successful donkey is a fire-breathing dragon!"<strong>  
><strong>Donkey from Shrek (not sure this was actually in the movie since I heard it when I went to see the Shrek attraction in Universal Studios).<strong>

**Cough. Does anyone see some sort of analogy there for men and women? Hehe, just kidding, please don't take offence if you're male as I know some of you are. XP**

**Anonymous Review Responses:**  
><strong>(This should be Response, none of the usual anonymous people reviewed… *pout*)<strong>

**Joe: I like the name XD Joe, as in, that's your name, or as in ordinary Joe kind of thing? Thanks for saying that, very few people tell me I can keep my characters in, well, character, and it's nice to know that I'm not too sketchy with details. Thank you so much for your feedback and I hope you review again!**

**Thanks to all my reviewers: Dragon Silhouette, SaturnXK, Bookworm83197, Ice Prince Hitsugaya, foxdemonsrock, xX Feathered Xx, metsfan101, Winter Lover in the Snow, witchsoul531, Dark-Angel-Princess 01, Prince of Winter Dragons, Captain Bitch Ninja, Stelra Etnae, Joe and wildedge . To my silent readers, favouriters (pretty sure that's not a word) and subscribers, thanks for doing the aforementioned and I hope you know that I appreciate you guys too! Drop a line next time, k?**

**I'd just like to take a few lines to dedicate to some of you here, whose stories I have subscribed to and favourited but I have not reviewed. I'm sorry. :-/ I'll try to keep up, but like I said earlier, the last few months has been tough and I usually only have the time to skim through chapters, not even read properly, let alone review. I'm so sorry. I've been busy with debate and squash competitions (for those of you who don't know, and to answer your question, xX Feathered Xx, squash is a sport. It's like tennis, but with a wall, indoors, and your opponent stands next to you. Less strange and more fun than it sounds).**

**Also, my writing style seems a lot more… adult-ish all of a sudden. I don't know why I've been writing like this lately, but just go with it, k? Hope it doesn't bother anyone but I was in rather a bad/depressed mood when I wrote some of this. (whyisschoolcomingupsosoonOMG i'mgettingold)**

**Anyway, thanks for putting up with me guys. I understand if you're mad at me now. :'( But I love you guys anyway!**

**T.A.G.A. 3**

**Edit: OMG I FORGOT TO BETA THIS! But but but I don't want to delete the chapter now that I've put it up... If it's okay with IPH, I'll replace this with the beta'ed chapter later? Ugh. It's way past 4am here so I'm not thinking straight. I'm so sorry IPH! I hope you understand! :-/ I was a bit too excited to post the chapter.**

**Anyway, forget 8888 words. This is past 9000. /dies/**


	8. Labels

ICE DRAGON CHRONICLES  
>By: The Awesome God Apollo<p>

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, the amount of money I managed to save this year hasn't been able to convince Tite Kubo to sell out yet. But I'm still trying.

I had trouble with Hinamori's part, I'm not really a huge fan and figuring out what exactly made her tick and how her thought process would go was difficult for me. Sorry if it seems a bit disjointed or not in-character.

Is it possible to dedicate this to three people? I want to dedicate it to Ice Prince Hitsugaya, whose birthday I forgot (I'm so sorry) and who's helped me so much with this story, as well as to Winter Lover in the Snow whose birthday was pretty recent‼ and is always so sweet to me, AND to SaturnXK who is just amazing (more birthday forgetting on my part -.-") I love all of you ^^; Happy Shiro-day!

I'm not even going to bother with a long A.N. explaining my absence. I've been busy with school and life and I'm sorry. Long story. On with the chapter!

Chapter 6 – Labels

Hinamori Momo hated the cold.

Winter was always the worst time of year. The beautiful trees of the forest that lined her favourite clearing seemed to shrivel, bleeding white and sagging under the ice that would form. The simplicity of their little village gave way to harsh lines and sharp icicles, and the snow would trap her in their small house for hours.

The people of the village were no different; winter was an inconvenience that was insurmountable at best. It led to blocked roads, treacherous pathways and, more often than not, sickness running rampant among the cranky children. It was dreary, it was depressing, and worst of all, it was cold.

It had been the coldest day of the year when her grandmother had burst into the house with surprising agility, carrying a small bundle that had later become her little brother. Little Momo, enamoured by his beautiful eyes and happy smile, had picked him up right out of Granny's arms and bounced him up and down, stopping only when she had felt ice creeping onto her fingers.

She had given him back to Granny straight away, but the cold had already settled in her bones.

Years later, when she returned to visit her home during a break from the Academy, she felt it again. Only this time, her tenure as a Shinigami in the making had made her intimately familiar with the sharp tang of reiatsu. She hadn't breathed a word, merely pulling her uniform a little tighter around herself.

Its strength didn't surprise her as much as it should have, but it made her shiver nonetheless. She had known that he was ready for the Academy. Nevertheless, her mixed feelings had prevented her from making any move to set things in motion.

It was an odd combination. Envy that he was already so strong despite the lack of formal training. Guilt at leaving Granny behind that was only abated by the fact that Toshiro still kept her company. Jealousy that prompted her to want to protect her niche, the thing that was hers and no one else's, that she didn't have to share with her genius brother. And, above all the rest, a sense of responsibility and protectiveness to shield her little brother from the danger that the Shinigami world had to offer.

But as he stood before her, he didn't seem like the same person she had always protected and looked after. He seemed stronger, more determined, and she wasn't sure why.

She reached out with her senses, pushing with her reiatsu and feeling it pushed back by something unyielding and strong. Its chill sent a small tremor racing along her spine and she smiled wryly. Looking at her little Shiro-chan in front of her, swathed in the Academy uniform that seemed much too old for him, the cold had never reminded her so much of home.

A quiet voice interrupted her musings. "You're spacing out, Hinamori."

"Aw, were you worried about me, Shiro-chan? I was just thinking that you've grown a bit taller, that's all!" He scowled up at her, and her smile widened at the familiar scene.

"Shut up, Bed-Wetter Momo! And I told you not to call me that!"

"But really, Shiro-chan," she continued, "what are you doing here? I didn't know you wanted to become a Shinigami."

His expression hardened and he looked away. "I didn't want to come."

"Eh?" Momo was taken aback. Even if he didn't need protection, he wasn't the only person she wanted to look after. "Why did you come if you didn't want to? You could've stayed with Granny!"

"I didn't have any choice!" The words were sharp and defensive.

Momo frowned. "But now Granny's all alone! You shouldn't have left her by herself, Shiro-chan, you know that she-"

"You left _first_!"

Momo reeled back slightly in shock. As long as they had known each other, he had never raised his voice like that at her. Perhaps in jest, or in response to teasing, but they had never had such a violent argument before.

Toshiro stared up at her and she saw a brief flash of hurt in his eyes before his face became a mask of indifference. Guilt gnawed at her and she bit her lip. "I—I'm sorry, Shiro-chan. I didn't realise…"

At first it had seemed as though Toshiro had followed her for the company, something he had been wont to do when they were younger. She had rarely been seen without her little brother trailing after her, insistent on being by her side. But his slumped shoulders and tired eyes betrayed other possibilities that hadn't occurred to her, and it was almost like a slap to the face.

Momo placed a hand on his shoulder and he didn't shrug her off. "Shiro-chan, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

When he didn't reply, she frowned. He never kept any secrets from her. But she couldn't ask, not after they had just argued. She would pursue it another time. For now, though, she would change the subject to something more comfortable.

"Shiro-chan, why don't you come and meet the friends that I told you about?" At his skeptical face, she grinned (only half of it was fake). "I was on my way to meet them in the _library_."

Momo saw his eyes light up just a little at the prospect. It was enough for her, and a genuine smile blossomed on her face. She grabbed his hand and tugged him away quickly, ignoring the surprised "Oi!" from the disgruntled boy. "Come on, Shiro-chan! It'll be fun!"

"I told you not to call me Shiro-chan!"

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

Toshiro followed a step or two behind Hinamori as she led the way to the library. He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty because of his outburst. Hinamori had no way of knowing why he was there, and he wasn't going to tell her if he could help it. He knew, though, that him being there had dredged up old feelings for both of them, something neither of them wanted to deal with at the time. Hinamori seemed to have already let it go, so he didn't bring it up and trailed after her in relative silence as she chattered to him about the Academy.

The library was a small building, modest and understated. It was dwarfed by the dining hall nearby, with off-white walls and high arches. The entrance was lined with portraits and pictures and snippets of information for the idle to read and the doors, as seemed common in Seireitei, were unnecessarily large.

The second they stepped into the main archive, Toshiro knew that the library would become his favourite place in the Academy. Surprisingly vast despite initial appearances, it was quiet, full of interesting books, and there was a distinct lack of idiots around.

"Abarai-kun! Izuru-kun! There you guys are!" Toshiro eyed the two of them doubtfully. Perhaps he had been mistaken.

The taller of the two perked up in his seat, shouting a greeting before the withered librarian glared him into submission. He was well-built, toned muscles betraying years of training. Toshiro might have afforded him a grudging respect for this if not for his ridiculous hair. It stood upright in the most logically impossible manner, and was a red so bright it was almost blinding.

The other one wasn't much better. He was sitting down, hunched over a book, with blonde hair obscuring half of his face. His slumped posture might or might not have had anything to do with the idiot sitting beside him, but he looked like all the world was weighing on his frail shoulders. Hinamori had an interesting taste in friends.

Hinamori bounced up to the small table and Toshiro followed suit, eyeing everyone else warily. The rest of the people in the library were more subtle than the redhead had been in sizing him up, but he was acutely aware that he was the odd one out. A random blue-haired girl in the corner wasn't even trying to be discrete as she openly gawked after them.

Toshiro shook off the stares as best he could; there would be time to deal with them later. For now, he had to concentrate his efforts on murdering the redhead who was trying to ruffle his hair.

"Kinda short for a student, ain't he?" Toshiro's eye twitched and Hinamori flailed slightly to distract him.

"Shiro-chan, this is Abarai-kun!" She smiled as she nudged her friend in the side with her elbow.

Any attempt to correct her was cut off by the redhead, now identified as Abarai, who clearly couldn't take a hint. "I'm Abarai Renji, nice to meet ya! What's your name, brat?"

"_Don't_ call me a brat, you pineapple-headed moron." His voice raised slightly in annoyance; he had never really liked pineapples anyway. The librarian glanced up sharply but said nothing.

"What did you call me, you little-?!" Abarai shouted and lunged forward to grab the collar of his uniform. The sudden appearance of a figure beside them made him stop in his tracks.

The spindly librarian, barely taller than Toshiro herself and looking older than the photos of the soutaicho Toshiro had seen the night before, had a rather imposing air about her as she pinned them down with her deep-set eyes. "I do not appreciate such noise and brash arguments in my library. I would ask you to please settle down, else remove yourselves from the premises if you insist on disturbing the other students."

Her command was soft but held an undercurrent of authority that Toshiro couldn't help but respect. Both he and Abarai quieted almost immediately, taking seats at opposite ends of the table. Toshiro blithely ignored Abarai's glares, choosing instead to make conversation with the blonde while Hinamori appeased her… _friend_.

"I'm Izuru Kira, a sixth year here. It's nice to meet you."

"Hitsugaya Toshiro, first year. And you as well."

They fell silent after that, neither having any idea how to continue. Normally, Toshiro would just bicker with whomever he had to interact with (it almost always being Hinamori) but Izuru didn't really seem like the bickering type. He just read silently as Toshiro drummed his fingers on the table for a few minutes, unwilling to admit boredom. Hinamori was deep in conversation with Abarai, probably having forgotten him already, so Toshiro busied himself studying the covers of the books that were splayed out on the table.

They covered a wide variety of subjects, most of which Toshiro had never heard of in his short tenure as a student. Basic English **(1)**, The Releases of a Zanpakuto, The Mastery of Kidou…

Kidou? The name was familiar. It conjured a memory of an excited Hinamori, raving about how "Aizen-taichou" was a _master_ of kidou, and how she wanted to be one too, but it was too difficult because it required such intricate control of her reiatsu. Intricate control which, she later told him, she had gained by learning the high-level kidou spells.

Toshiro looked down at the book with its innocuous cover. Maybe the trip hadn't been such a waste of time after all.

At the next break in the conversation, he took his chance to ask her. "Hinamori." Her head snapped towards him.

"Oh, Shiro-chan! I almost forgot you were there!" She giggled when he rolled his eyes, giving up on the correction.

"What's kidou?"

Her eyes lit up and beside her, Abarai groaned. "Don't you remember, Shiro-chan? I've told you about it before! Kidou is like using your reiatsu to make physical things like attacks or shields. It's the most fun thing we get to learn here!"

"Sure, it's fun when you can do it…" Izuru's book slipped in his grip to reveal his distraught expression. "But not all of us can memorise the incantations…"

Toshiro could practically see the waves of depression rolling off of him and shuffled his chair a bit further away. If the people he had met so far were any indication, Shinigami were an odd bunch.

"Incantations?" he asked Hinamori.

"Yeah, most kidou requires incantations." She grinned in Izuru's direction, before suddenly realising something and turning to him. "But Shiro-chan, it's probably too early for you to be learning kidou! It can be really dangerous if you don't manage it properly!"

He ignored her as he stood up. "…Shiro-chan?"

Toshiro made his way over to the librarian at her desk. "Excuse me, where are the books on kidou?"

She examined him for a moment before lifting her arm and pointing wordlessly. He nodded his thanks and followed her direction to a small section of the library to his right.

The book he wanted was relatively easy to find. _Kidou and the Power Behind It: An In-Depth Exploration_ was slotted into the corner of the fifth shelf, barely out of his reach. He grabbed it and trudged back to the librarian, thankful that the tall shelves had hidden his need to jump to get it from prying eyes.

When he approached, the librarian looked up from her own book. "Excuse me again, would it be possible to take this book elsewhere?"

She glanced down at the title and then back at him again. "Name?"

"Hitsugaya Toshiro." He tried not to squirm under her appraising gaze. A skeletal hand jotted something down, and Toshiro resisted the urge to rest his chin on the desk and peer at the book she was writing in. He jumped when she waved dismissively.

"That book must be back within 10 days. You may drop it off here or request an extension of time."

Taking the curt dismissal for what it was, Toshiro thanked her and made his way back to the table where Hinamori and her friends were waiting expectantly, ignoring the curious stare of a student seated close to the desk. When he arrived at the table, Hinamori grabbed the book from his hands before making a noise of dismay.

"Ah, Shiro-chan," she began, "this is a fourth year book! It's got all the kidou spells up until number 70! Those are really dangerous, you know!"

He cut her off before she could continue. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Shiro-chan? And it's fine, I just need to learn the theory." Abarai and Izuru were watching them with interest at the prospect of an argument.

"But Shiro-chan! I'm sure you don't actually need to learn it so much that you can't wait until next year! You need to learn it from a proper instructor, or else you might blow yourself up like Abarai-kun always does! You're still too young to learn such dangerous techniques!" She countered.

Abarai spluttered in the background. "Oi, I thought we agreed not to mention that!"

Toshiro ignored him as he retorted. "Leave me alone, Hinamori! I'm not a little kid anymore, I can handle myself just fine."

She winced, silenced by the bite in his tone, and he allowed himself to feel a twinge of regret as he gathered his myriad of belongings and walked out of the library.

PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK

If he was going to try to learn kidou, then he'd need a space large enough to practice in, but obscure enough that no one would find the inevitable trail of destruction he would leave behind. There didn't seem to be any such place that he knew of, but then again, the Academy was huge, slightly bigger than his little town in Junrinan.

He wandered for the better part of an hour before deciding to venture into the forest towards the back of the Academy's walls. It was a small forest, but it seemed big enough to hide what he was doing from the others in the area.

Toshiro had walked for a good few minutes before he literally stumbled upon his answer. Just beyond the dense trees, there was a small clearing. It looked hardly large enough for 15 people to stand in. The sun shone down heavily in the middle and a few haphazard rocks and plants were scattered on the ground. It would have to do.

When he sat down in the shade of the tree, he noticed an extra item in his 'bag'. At first glance, it looked like a bundle of cloth, but when he examined it, he found that it was a book-carrier. Stitched in neat block letters on the strap of the bag were the letters HM, and Toshiro instantly felt guilty. He hoped she had an extra bag stashed away – it would probably be rude to return this one to her.

Perhaps he had been too hasty snapping at her; she couldn't have known why he needed to learn kidou. No, he couldn't _let_ her know. He'd make it up to her later when he saw her again. But first, he had some reading to do.

He leant against the tree, pulling out the book, and began to read. _Kidou is the manipulation of reiatsu exerted by the wielder, directed in physical form to create defences or bindings, serve as offensive attacks or heal wounds. Kidou is a general term referring to the deployment of such reiatsu; it is further subdivided into three types: Hadou, Bakudou and Kaidou…_

It took him nearly an hour to finish the book, but that hour had at least granted him a vague understanding of reiatsu and how it could be manipulated. It was time, then, for him to start learning kidou.

He began in a manner that seemed the most logical to him, accessing his reiatsu. Toshiro wasn't entirely sure he truly did have any, but the frost that coated any room he slept in and that exploding orb (which he had read about the night before) suggested otherwise. He felt a bit ridiculous, sitting on the ground with his eyes closed attempting to reach into the "core of his soul" which the reiatsu was ostensibly from, but he had no choice but to follow the book's guidance.

The harder he concentrated, the more he felt a cool wind on his face. It gradually increased in strength, until he heard a quiet roar in the vague distance, and his eyes snapped open.

A thin layer of frost had begun to coat the book in his hands, and he brushed it off quickly before it could do any damage. That feeling he had had moments ago, a sudden rush of energy that had lanced through his body, seemed very much like what the book had been trying to describe. Perhaps…

Toshiro grabbed a nearby rock, about twice the size of his fist, and recited the incantation for the first Hadou, Sho. He tried to force that feeling from him again, and he felt some energy build up when he channeled it to his right palm that he had placed directly in front of the rock. When he called the name of the spell, however, the rock merely tipped forward slightly before returning to its position.

He growled in annoyance before attempting it one more time. This time, he waited for the feeling to build up, for the roaring to become louder, before he began the incantation. As he chanted, the tingling feeling built up in his arms, and it slowly grew stronger.

"Hadou #1: _Sho_!" The Hadou hit its target, and the rock exploded outwards.

Toshiro jerked back in shock, but not before some shards of stone had embedded themselves in his palms. He had a sense of déjà vu, thinking wryly to himself that he had a penchant for making things explode. Perhaps he should learn healing kidou first.

When the sun's light began to dim, Toshiro stopped practicing. He picked up Hinamori's (now his, he supposed) bag and left the clearing, swaying slightly in exhaustion. The gashes on his hands had stopped bleeding, but despite trying for hours, he had only managed to heal two. Still, progress was progress, and he made his way to the main buildings with equal parts satisfaction and fatigue.

The closer he got to the dormitories, the more people seemed to trickle in from various places, apparently headed for either the dormitories or the dining hall. He received many sidelong glances from the other students when he veered towards the sixth year dormitories, but none of them stopped him as he disappeared amidst the (much taller) crowd.

After chucking his things into his room, he made his way to the dining hall without attracting too much attention, and he went into the back room, unwilling to deal with all the noise. Murayama-san was there, and she slipped him a simple but large meal silently, apparently understanding his disinterest in talking.

Toshiro demolished his meal hungrily, before returning it to Murayama-san and thanking her. He trudged back up to his room and slumped onto the bed tiredly. It wasn't long before exhaustion carried him back to the familiar stormy landscape.

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK

His classes the next day passed by in monotony. As seemed normal, they were almost entirely theory, with his first ever practical class being at the end of the curriculum day.

Toshiro paid attention in class, but he was one of the few. Most of the class was slacking off, staring out of the windows or outright sleeping on their desks in front of the teachers. The teachers themselves were relatively normal in comparison to everyone else he had met thus far, but many of them looked just as bored as the students, droning on to convey the necessary information before leaving as quickly as they could. He only hoped the practical classes were more interesting.

The moment Toshiro stepped into the Zanjutsu demonstration class (having followed his classmates and so being on time), he knew that he had got what he wished for. Probably more than he wished for.

One entire side of the room was lined with wooden swords of uniform size, and instantly Toshiro knew that they would probably be too big for him. The floor was lined with various mats that made a checkered pattern on the plain white floor.

Their teacher was standing by the largest window. He looked normal enough, at least. He had green eyes and close-cropped auburn hair. He had a grin on his face as he greeted the class, but the short sword at his waist and toned muscles gave Toshiro the impression that he knew what he was doing.

Their teacher waited until they were lined up before him to address them. "Alright, last class of the day!" One or two of the students mock cheered. "Let's get this over with so we can all get out of here!"

His gaze swept over the classroom and landed momentarily on Toshiro. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Fujita-sensei. Now, we'll be continuing as per normal. Split into pairs and hold practice fights. I want to see everyone practicing the techniques you've learnt. We're doing this for the rest of the day so I don't have to teach!" When no one moved, he rolled his eyes. "Let's go!"

Toshiro turned around at the dismissal, intent on finding the weakest person in the room. Instead, he found a wooden sword thrust at his face. He scrambled to catch it and was taken aback by its weight. Lifting it shakily, he looked up to see Watanabe grinning menacingly down at him.

"Come on, _midget_, there's no senpai to protect you now." Watanabe walked towards a random mat. Toshiro was reluctant to follow, but his pride wouldn't let him back down from the unspoken challenge, just as in Junrinan when he faced bullies. Besides, the other students had already found partners (although one group did have three people).

Toshiro made his way to Watanabe, ignoring two girls who were whispering rather loudly to each other.

"_That kid is totally dead, I mean, Watanabe is ranked fifth! I wonder if sensei will intervene?"_

"_Sensei usually doesn't, though. Remember that whole thing about learning from experience?" _

"_But he might have to this time! The new kid doesn't even look like he can hold the sword properly._"

They weren't entirely wrong, Toshiro mused as he gripped the weighted sword in his hands. He adjusted his grip until it felt somewhat more natural, but the added weight was just going to slow him down, and speed seemed to be the only advantage he had against Watanabe.

Watanabe sneered. "I hope you at least give me a little challenge, brat. Ready?"

Toshiro didn't want to, but he nodded anyway.

Forgoing formalities, Watanabe lunged forward, and Toshiro sluggishly brought the sword up to stop himself from being mowed down. He staggered backwards under the sheer force of the strike. Watanabe raised his sword to swing again, and Toshiro found himself clumsily blocking wherever possible, although Watanabe did get a good few glancing blows in.

Toshiro experimentally swung his sword at Watanabe, putting as much force behind it as he could. He was pleased to see Watanabe's arms bend as his sword was pushed back slightly, but it was a small victory. Watanabe retreated slightly, only to rain blows down on Toshiro with short, sharp strikes, interspersed with quick jabs to his abdomen. Toshiro couldn't keep up with him, and his comparatively meager strength meant that he was being forced backwards.

With one particularly vicious blow, Watanabe knocked Toshiro onto the mat, sending the wooden sword clattering onto the floor. "And that's a victory for me." He laughed smugly.

Toshiro dragged himself up from the floor, picking up his sword. "We're supposed to keep fighting until Fujita-sensei tells us to stop."

Watanabe raised a single eyebrow condescendingly. "You seriously asking for more after _that_ beatdown, kid?" Toshiro didn't reply except to raise his sword again. "Fine by me, you arrogant brat!"

Toshiro forced himself to remain calm and analyse the situation. Watanabe was clearly still seeking revenge, angry over their previous encounter – that anger would cloud his judgement. That could give Toshiro the advantage.

When he concentrated, Watanabe's movements seemed slower. Toshiro heard a distant roar that made him grip his sword tightly. Suddenly he began to move just a bit faster, push back with just a bit more force, but it wasn't enough to overwhelm his opponent.

Watanabe was repeating his earlier tactic, using brute force to push him back towards the boundary of their designated space. Toshiro didn't have enough strength to compete with him, and so went for glancing blows and evasion, attempting to attack where Watanabe couldn't guard, but he didn't have much space to maneuver and the sword was too heavy in his hands. He needed the element of surprise, to use Watanabe's strengths against him in a way that would throw him off…

He scrutinised his opponent as he dodged a frustrated swing once more. Watanabe had an odd technique, holding his sword horizontal to the ground before swinging it upwards to gain momentum. It was likely a subconscious quirk, a defensive measure in case Toshiro decided to throw himself forward, but he could use that to create an opening.

Toshiro lunged forward suddenly, interrupting the monotony that their fight had become. Watanabe's sword came up to meet him instantly, and Toshiro stumbled backwards under the weight of the swing. This time though, he made sure he was out of reach before launching himself into the air, just as Watanabe had his sword horizontal to the ground.

He landed on Watanabe's sword, crouching just in front of his face.

Toshiro took advantage of Watanabe's shock, pushing off the sword immediately and leaping over him with agility Toshiro wasn't sure how he had. The momentum knocked the sword from Watanabe's hands and Toshiro, directly behind him, seized the opportunity, bringing his wooden sword up to rest at Watanabe's neck.

Toshiro pressed the sword down slightly. "Yield." Watanabe's posture slumped slightly, enough for Toshiro to recognise that the fight wouldn't continue.

He let the wooden sword fall to his side to stunned silence. Watanabe, for once, wasn't running his mouth. Several pairs of students around them had stopped fighting to watch the spectacle although training continued in the background.

Toshiro stepped away from Watanabe, ducking under the irritated hand that shot out to grab him. "Why you little—"

A shrill whistle cut them off, saving Toshiro from the continued fight. Watanabe narrowed his eyes, but said nothing as Fujita-sensei beckoned everyone over to him. "Okay, maggots, that was vaguely acceptable! Half of you weren't using the techniques you've learnt but it's not like you listen to me anyway. Those of you whom I corrected today had better not make the same mistakes again! Class dismissed!"

Fujita-sensei glanced over at Toshiro, and added quietly, "And save the jumping for Hakuda, Hitsugaya."

Toshiro gave him a curt nod before moving to leave his wooden sword at the side of the class. He grabbed his bag and made to leave, but Watanabe stepped into his path. A few others slowed down their pace, obviously intending to watch if another fight broke out. "Hey, midget, this isn't over! I'll crush you the next time!"

Toshiro rolled his eyes, glancing past the bumbling fool in front of him to the now empty doorway. "I wonder." He brushed past Watanabe, trying to make a quick exit.

Watanabe grabbed his shoulder. "Oi! Look at your superiors when they're talking to you!" A warning glance from Fujita-sensei made him slacken his grip.

Toshiro shrugged him off, hiking his bag further up his shoulder and stalking away to the solace of his clearing.

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK

Toshiro later discovered that he was good at being a Shinigami.

Since his unconventional defeat of Watanabe in class, he had begun to find shortcuts to achieving results. They weren't necessarily the most traditional methods, but they got the job done. Hakuda was relatively simple once Toshiro learnt how to take advantage of his size, slipping under the guard of his opponents before striking them with hard fast blows. His mind granted him a further advantage, allowing him to strategise and create tactics and techniques beyond what they were taught, which always seemed to throw the others off. A few weeks into his classes, he was ranked fourth among his classmates for Hakuda and had little desire to take on any of the top three.

Hoho, too, was not difficult to master. His size once again gave him a slight advantage over the others, and he had quickly learnt how to use quick bursts of reiatsu when he used Shunpo rather than following the traditional method of channeling a constant reiatsu through his legs. His speed increased as he began to devote more time to learning kidou, until he became the second fastest in the first-year class.

Zanjutsu was the class he had the least trouble with. After the first week, Fujita-sensei had pulled him aside, spending some time after lessons to correct Toshiro's form and strokes that the other students had learnt before he had arrived. Even after that, he still jumped around, much to Fujita-sensei's dismay, but found he had a natural talent for swordplay that had nothing to do with his size or intelligence. He practiced after class when he had the chance, and, though the sword still felt uncomfortably heavy, over the course of a few months steadily pushed his ranking up to first in their class. (Although, he had never had a proper match with Watanabe since their first and only fight – Fujita-sensei was very careful about who he paired with whom.)

That was when the rumours first began. Hinamori had caught up with him one day, pulling him aside to tell him that she'd heard things about an unusual first-year student.

"_Oh, Shiro-chan, they're calling you a tensai now!"_ He didn't have any response for her, the same way he had no response for the few people who actually approached him. Any bullying had died out quickly, squashed by the terrifying image the rumours had created, but whispers now followed close behind him.

"_I heard he kicked Watanabe's ass after class too!"_

"_Really? Someone told me that he threatened a sixth year to get his room!"_

"_I heard that he killed someone, that's why he joined so late."_

The last hit a little too close to home.

He couldn't say that he was surprised at their treatment of him. Years in Rukongai had taught him not to chase acceptance, so he didn't bother with the others. He couldn't quite deny that he had hoped it would be different, and he found himself becoming a bit more of a recluse, spending less time with Hinamori and more time in the clearing. Which, of course, sparked even more rumours.

The extra time spent throwing himself into learning kidou did have its benefits. He would spend the first half of the afternoon meditating, trying to find that stormy place and, after nearly two weeks of trying, learnt how to redirect the storm. The dragon's roars were still lost to the wind, but Toshiro was able to channel some of that energy, _reiatsu_, through his body.

The second half of the afternoon was spent learning the kidou itself. Each new kidou had increasingly complex chants, and messing up the name would end badly, as he knew from experience. Still, he persevered, repeating each kidou hundreds of times until they did what they were supposed to do.

By the time four weeks had passed, he had learnt up until Hadou #34 and Bakudou #22, and he was skilled enough at Kaidou to heal the minor cuts and bruises he gained from the practice. His constant repetition of various Hadou spells had blown multiple holes in the clearing, and it was already marginally bigger than it had been before. His Hadou #1: _Sho_ was powerful enough that he had managed to destroy several rocks in the same fashion as he had the first time, except this time it had enough thrust that all the rock fragments went in the other direction. And, with each kidou he learnt, the frost that crept over his room at night, although ever-present, continued to thin.

That particular day, Toshiro found himself in the clearing revising the previous kidou. It was routine for him to do so at least weekly, going over each kidou that he had learnt up until that point to ensure that he didn't forget.

Hadou #31 was one of his recent favourites, and he practiced it the most often. It had a relatively easy incantation for the amount of destructive power it held.

"_Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the South! Hadou #31: Shakkahou!" _The red orb of energy grew to the size of his head, and he fired it, aiming for one of the trees at the side of the clearing. As the Hadou stuck the tree, the wood splintered and gave way as the concentrated attack burnt a hole clean through the tree without causing it to topple. Toshiro lowered his hands, satisfied with his control.

"Well, well, would you look at that, Jyuushirou. Kidou already up to the 30s."

"So it seems. How impressive!"

Toshiro spun around so fast he almost fell over. Two men were standing at the edge of the clearing. One, a familiar figure, was leaning on the stump of a tree Toshiro had destroyed a few weeks prior. The other, with long hair and a smile on his face, stood upright beside him.

"It's you!" Toshiro stared at the man. Kyouraku, if he remembered correctly. **(3) **In fact, if his memory served, that was Kyouraku Shunsui, Captain of the 8th Division. Who always seemed to be slacking off somewhere. Surely the man had some duties?

He turned his attention to the other man. He was an unfamiliar figure, tall but not imposing. White hair fell past his shoulders, and he had kind green eyes. He, too, wore the white haori that supposedly marked out a captain. (Really, it was like captains had nothing better to do.)

Kyouraku grinned, adjusting his hat. "Yes, it's me. A friend of mine wanted to meet you." He gestured lazily in the other man's direction and Toshiro's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The white-haired man walked over to Toshiro and bent down to match his height (already Toshiro didn't like him much). **(2)** "Hello, I'm Ukitake Jyuushirou. Nice to meet you, my fellow Shiro-chan!"

**(1) Surely not all souls that die in Japan speak Japanese. They must know a number of other languages, at least conversationally. I'm assuming they learn any other necessary languages when they join their squads.**

**(2) He's addressing them by their last names in his head, not aloud, so it's not that he's being rude or anything…**

**(3) I do think he grows to like Ukitake, but seeing how much he hates being treated like a child, I doubt there was a good first impression.**

**There are no replies for anons did I scare them all away ;A;**

**What can I say? I'm sorry for not updating. It's been really crazy. Expect more chapters this year though.**

**Thanks to Dragon-Silhouette, Stelra-Etnae, wildedge, SwingingRobin, This-Is-Where-My-Name-ShouldBe, Winter Lover in the Snow, xX Feathered Xx, littlemissxflydog, o0Omeiuqer0Oo, ToshiLuver15 and Cookie-the-Rookie for your lovely reviews! And thank you to everyone who favourited and followed and didn't give up on this story! /hugs for everyone**

**Also can I just take a moment to say that Toshiro needs to come back to life right now Bleach is getting seriously boring…**

**Til next chapter****‼**** (Which I swear on my life will be soon really I'm in the process of writing it now)**

**T.A.G.A. 3**


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